Just after midnight on January 1, in a private ceremony in the long-closed former City Hall subway station in Manhattan, New York Attorney General Letitia James swore Zohran Mamdani into office as mayor of New York on a historic Quran.
Contrasting Mamdani and Trump makes it clear how America lost its way. The concept of public integrity vanished. The sense of virtue in government, of acceptance of responsibility towards the body politic, and the ethical obligation to provide care to those in need among us disappeared.
I was reminded of this when I recently learned of the death of the most decent, principled man I ever knew, Pat Dobel, Corbally University Professor of Public Service at the University of Washington, author of a text on Public Leadership Ethics.
How we save our democracy cannot just be focused on legislation and court rulings. It can’t just be focused on kicking out the shallow, self-centered, ethically challenged politicians who have been elected. We have to restore a framework of leadership in our politics and government that embodies ethical standards and norms. We need to construct barriers to the all-too-easy downhill slide away from integrity.
Pat’s ideas are not something quaint, although I am sure many will think so. They respect our founder’s ideals while recognizing that real people will sometimes fail. But with practice, what it means to be an ethical leader for the public good becomes achievable.
The only way it will happen is if we all, as citizens, come to understand what we must expect from those we elect to lead us.
It is up to us to bring us more Mamdanis and fewer Trumps.
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Mamdani: " ... where excellence in no longer the exception", "resurrect the legacy" of the "gorgeous mosaic".
HCR: We heard "... a declaration of a new kind of modern politics that focuses on "freedom to" rather than "freedom from".
Yes, bring another human being a plate of food but, we can take actions that have a national impact even to take on problems with seemingly overwhelming complexity.
Taking my cue from Megan & Heather, yesterday, with some help from a Rhode Islander, I wrote to Senator Whitehouse (RI) & succinctly summarized how the Epstein Survivors can take control of the 5.2 million document database & create a searchable database. FRCP 53.
“Freedom to” rather than “freedom from.” Reminds me of reframing chores as “I get to” rather than “I have to.” A psychological shift that can become a paradigm shift…
Bryan Sean McKown, if you wake to the news about Maduro, please write to your Senator, assuming he is Senator Whitehouse, to please speak
loudly and clearly. ICE had at least one Blackhawk in Chicago yesterday afternoon, so I assume we can expect any massive protests to be met with lethal force.
Virginia, ironic, isn't it? That the same man who is "rattling his sword" so loudly to "protect Iran's peaceful protesters against their totalitarian leaders" is the same man who cheerfully sets his ICE hounds against ordinary citizens in his own country.
Still, yesterday was a pistol. But at its very root, what can any of us believe????
Several belated "likes" from people advised me in response to queries I had raised to be cautious of what I was watching on line because some were AI constructed.
I found myself bent out of shape trying to respond to yet another "Dem"'strident plea to "chip in" 25, 50, 75 dollars from an entity assuming I would just accept they were bona fide, authorized by the Party to solicit from my sons' inheritance despite its past failures to even acknowledge, save by silence, many attempts since the summer of '23 to engage with Dem leadership through carefully constructed advice and counsel on the many growing threats facing America's "democratic experiment?"
And before I turned in around ten I had been dismayed to belatedly realized that two George Conway 'posts' and one by HCR I'd just watched were almost certainly AI 'creations' . . .
This morning came the scattered 'reports' of 'actions' America seems to have taken against Maduro and Venezuela.
"WHAT TO BELIEVE . . .???" "HOW MUCH DOUBT AND UNCERTAINTY CAN A PEOPLE . . .I . . . BEAR???
If yesterday was a pistol, what lies ahead for each and all of us today???
Agree. Enough of the same approach on everything including the Files. Someone also pointed out there are employment records on all the ICE agents. Why isn't someone looking into these people?
We are done with the constant delays while politicians hang out in plush offices enjoying the perks of a solid pension, platinum health benefits, etc.
Do stuff. Stop lying to us about how hard it is to get anything done.
Bryan you have created a powerful new slogan: "Create a new legacy."
It is appalling that Trump's military has invaded another country and kidnapped the president and first lady. I have visited Venezuela and talked with ordinary people, who were wonderful. Unfortunately, like the United States, their government is corrupt and venal. I'm not at all a fan of Maduro, nor Chavez before him, invading another country is illegal -- like so much else that Trump has done. King Donnie gets away with it because there is no one to stop him.
I am working on federal law answer to provide a court supervised, searchable, database for Survivors of the 5.2 Million Epstein documents uncovered so far.
See, FRCP Section 53:
"Where warranted by exceptional circumstances", "given the complexity of a huge database as well as getting search & retrieval methods & managing statutory identity & other data protection".
Then in 2026 appoint an independent, Special Master under continuing judicial control & a protective order (PTO) all for the benefit of the Survivors & their capable attorneys including BRITTANY HENDERSON & JENNIFER FREEMAN among others.
Venezuela invaded and Maduro taken prisoner. But the Jeffery Epstein rape charges against Donald Trump will not end. And this destruction of a sovereign government, even if illegitimate, will not end the charges of rape.
Yes, our leaders may want the oil, but the taking of Maduro (a head of sovereign government) was definitely another distraction from the Epstein files release.
Distraction? Trump using the U.S. military to seize the head of a sovereign state is a call to war. Impeachment now!!! What does Trump do next? Nuke China?
Well... these people in trump's cabinet are insufferable idiots. Give them a little power and they're all tyrants, with no sense of propriety or principles, under the control of violent passions. We'll be treading on land mines into the foreseeable future....
The most frightening thing to me is the apparent fact that the Military "Leaders" are ok with following orders that they should know are illegal, and involving our troops in egregious breaches of International Laws, never mind UN Dictates or Constitutional Provisions that Congress must be consulted and give approval.
If the Military leaders remaining (after Trump's purge of any Officers who would not bend to his evil will) are willing to carry out this kind of action, they will certainly be willing to aim their forces against their fellow citizens.
Richard, this is the news my husband greeted me with this am. I am aghast. This certainly opens the door to all sorts of bad things. I am just up and have not read the news stories about this yet. This means essentially that the military can grab any foreign leader. I was hoping to get in at least a few deep breaths to start the new year, but I guess not.
Me too Michele. I'm a night owl & a "true crime" buff...so had just tuned into an episode of Dateline...left the room at the first commercial break & returned to find Dateline pre-empted by videos of our launching missiles at Venezuela. I tried to wake my husband, who appeared to think I was imagining things & rolled over... I dozed off & quasi-woke to the news that we'd "captured" Maduro & his wife...then I thought I was imagining things! NOT. Later watched Trump announce that Rubio & Hesgeth will be "running" Venezuela. I'll never understand why ppl enjoy "fictional crime stories," when the real thing is far more compelling...and crazy.
BTW, speaking of being half-awake...did you notice Trump literally falling asleep on his feet while his military guy (whoever) was at the podium providing an account of our assault?
Our Republican leadership is all in to take over vulnerable countries such as Venezuela for their oil. Maduro may have his character flaws but Trump is a born thug being protected by his office as President of the USA. His family members are also gaining their share of power and influence. No matter how much soap they use nor how well they dress.....they cannot clean up nor disguise their obvious rot and corruption....wherever they go...what or whomever they touch....becomes the same.
No matter how well dressed and cleaned up or wealthy Trump's "Leadership" appears, they are not for the citizens of the USA but followers...using this opportunity to line their own pockets!
We as citizens of the USA are watching this happen daily even if we have our eyes 1/2 open!
It is the few, it is the brave ones...facing these giants from hell....who are increasingly rising up to save our country and the freedoms our true heroes have fought for since our beginnings as a nation. I thank God for each of you and I long to see more overwhelming peaceful gatherings of which I have been apart of in the past months and will continue to stand or sit as I am able.
The builder of faux empires has struck in Venezuela. Will we soon see Trump resorts on the beaches in Venezuela? Are we now officially a banana Republic?
Distraction! The public was paying too much attention to the Epstein debacle, so it must be time to create something that will gain media and public attention. Never mind the illegality of invasion and kidnapping.
I don’t disagree in principle but the term socialism is a dirty word in our body politics and ultimately ends in defeat and this is what will happen here. Don’t you get it. Stop with the dreamy ideals. We are heading for ultimate collapse if you think we will be electing socialist presidents. That’s just the way it is. I would prefer it wasn’t but it is. The handwriting has been scrawled on walls for decades now.
Socialism is not a dirty word. It is misused by people who want to imply, or say outright, care for one another, especially the vulnerable, is socialism.
What we need to do is make sure people know what socialism IS.
Well said. I am against children being forced to go hungry, youngsters being denied the medical treatment they need, young women bleeding out in their cars in hospital parking lots, old people who struggle without assistance and those who are homeless living on the streets and being arrested for it. If that makes me a "socialist", so be it.
Not to mention Community Hospitals, Social Security and Medicare. All of which Republicans want to make go away. Next they'll want to put toll booths on the streets and highways and send invoices for police and fire calls.
I think that it is the semantics that's the problem. Our schools and libraries are also a product of pragmatic capitalism. What we need to do is defeat oligarchy, monopolistic capitalism, which is a form of feudalism economics.
There is a difference between a social democracy and democratic socialism. That, in my opinion, and as a dual citizen Canadian/American, is what my fellow Americans need to learn.
To me it's ironic that this group is talking about socialism and whether it is "good" or "bad". Like republicans that only bitch about the national debt when democrats are in office but it's not socialism to bail out farmers after republicans destroyed the economy? Or, is that just flat out hypocrisy?
Now THAT might be impossible after all the negative programing that's been done for many decades...
Just as many have not responded negatively to the harm many of Trump's policies have done their families, I believe these same will react negatively to positive changes made by a socialist regime...
yeah...i think we grew up in different environments, T. and if this is true in your immediate one, i'm happy for you...but, from my experience(s), you seem to be talking about the exceptional cases...otherwise there wouldn't have been(at LEAST) a vietnam or iraq war...no maga teeners/20 yos...we, as a SPEcies, have had chances every DAY to 'start over'...and look where we are now. destroying the planet we, AND every other life form, live on...but i'd love to see what you said being taken advantage of by MUCH larger numbers...
Socialism IS a dirty word to a majority of Americans. Social Democracy is not. Social Democracy supports capitalism with guardrails. Socialists believe capitalism inherently creates inequality and should be replaced with a more democratic and cooperative economy. Does anyone really believe our country is capable and willing to re-design our entire economy?
ML, it is true that socialism is not a dirty word and that people do not understand it. However, it is right now political death here in Oregon because no one can win a state wide election calling themselves a socialist and they can't win most local elections either. That is the reality and it matters how people perceive it.
Medicare and Social Security are features of a social safety net. They are NOT socialism. Socialism is a form of government. We need a well regulated market economy with a social safety net to provide services that a market economy will not. Look at Sweden. "Sweden operates a market-based economy with extensive welfare state protections; it is not a socialist economy. The system is best described as a social market or social democratic model that blends free-market capitalism with robust public services and redistribution."
Hopefully, we are facing reality and realizing that the individual choices persons make about their personal lives is a form of freedom which is an ideal most of us want for ourselves.
Brian, I agree, but i’m sure you know that our whole economy has been re-designed during certain times in the past. For example, the change from “Robber Baron,” extreme capitalism in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to FDR’s liberal New Deal starting in the 1930s and lasting until Carter’s presidency in the 1970s.
Then came the change that victimizes and abuses the American people to this day. Namely, the change from liberal government to Republican, extreme, free- market capitalism or Neoliberalism starting with Reagan’s presidency and extending right up to our current days in MAGA America.
T_Allen, I agree. As I said, I'm not a socialist. I favor well-regulated capitalism and am a social Democrat on the model of some western European and Scandinavian countries. I wasn't trying to claim socialism is a human right. It seemed to me Bill Katz was a bit too dogmatic and certain about socialism being anathema, forever, to all of humanity. I don't think that's true and I was merely giving examples of other things that were thought to be anathema and then weren't.
Yes, I understand what you were saying, I was just attempting to clarify for people that would clump them together. I think the bloom is off the turd that Capitalism has become. Americans are practical people so when they decide Capitalism really doesn't work they will move on. Meantime people like Mamdani and Bernie and countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark will lead the way. Not that other countries can't create their own forms of enlightened government but so far none have done as well. Man's greed is the ultimate Achilles heel for any organization particularly governments. So far the species doesn't appear to have found a cure for it.
Wat? Where would I be without interracial relationships. you don’t say. listen up, don’t lump it all together. The most familiar taste of the democrat is eating his self.
Being commanded to "listen up," I did so. To repeat, I'm not a socialist and I think you are too dogmatic about socialism being anathema, forever, to the whole American part of humanity. I don't think that's true and I was merely giving examples of other things that we Americans thought to be anathema and then weren't. I think Americans are even liable to change their minds about socialism, especially if the irrational, alarmist, mendacious propaganda spread about it by conservatives for so many decades can be overcome. I don't mean Americans will necessarily adopt socialism, just that we will come to see it as one form of government just as free-market capitalism, state capitalism, and social democratic systems are.
But we have already practiced forms os socialism; taxes, education, social security and so on. I feel that we should apply the old Madison Avenue packaging approach to selling concepts not unlike our retardant conservatives do. They call things like free market capitalism and it sounds great. It’s freedom. De-regulation sounds fantastic right? I think we should approach concepts and match them to easy selling words. I know someone who remains a republican but hates Trump; he is a Connecticut Republican. But he still uses the word socialism because it’s cemented in his calcified brain.
Predictable that you'd say "socialism bad", Bill, But we all thought "Naziism bad" since the 1940s, yet here we are, with some in the Cabinet. If they can polish that turd, surely we can remind voters what a Democratic Socialist stands for: which in fact is what a majority of Americans stand for.
Bill, you're showing your age when you say "socialism is a dirty word". To anyone under 50 its more a question. Boomers grew up with "the bomb" and fallout shelters in their back yards. That's kind of like telling Alphas, Zoomers and Millenials how we used to listen to radio and there was no TV. They're not going to just take Boomers word for it.
Considering people of all ages don't understand the difference between socialism and social democracy, that's quite a statement. Oh and drop the "boomer" crap. That's bigotry.
Tonight at open mic at my stand-up, I shall open with, “I’m tired of seeing so many people my age that look so God Damn old it makes me sick. I’m a boomer from the Peace and Love generation but I hate everybody including my grandparents who should have stayed in Europe and that way I would be European.”
I agree 100% - in our body politic, socialism is a dirty word., almost the equivalent of communism. There is a much better and more accurate term to describe what Bernie and Momdani are: PRAGMATIC CAPITALISTS. The wealth of a nation is not created by just a few, but by the body politic as a whole. This is why, in large part, I like Frances Perkins' theory of government: "The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." There is no separating the economy from the government in the Industrial Age.
It's also up to us to clean out all the Schumers, Schiffs and all the other PAC owned Democrats who allowed this nightmare to happen. They, more than us, had knowledge of this building in back rooms, the Supreme Court and in legislation being passed. They allowed MAGA to gain a foothold all through the political system from school boards to State Houses, State Supreme Courts and all through Government. They talked about Democracy (a lovely but vague word) while the Republicans lied on every single kitchen table issue. The phenomenal Biden hid from the media and never explained himself to the American voter. And on and on and on...
You got it wrong. We the voters chose twice a clown and a cruel narsiccist from the debates and also a most open corrupt and immoral person. The billionaires are laughing at us.
Address the rise of Christian Nationalism, the growing power of the Heritage Foundation within the Republican party, the increasingly widespread corrupt media, the significant impact of gerrymandering and voter suppression, the left behind middle class, the threat to Roe v Wade, the effects of Russia propaganda on social media and on and on and on. While what I have mentioned was occurring Democrats were playing the "gentlemen rules." The Republicans were using every means available to gain the kind of power they have.
Add in the lazy, uninformed voter, the elimination of Civics in schools, the entrenchment of career politicians and what we have is a severe threat to what is left of our Democracy and the Constitution.
This was a long time coming.
To this day I will never forget Biden welcoming a rapist and felon into our Oval Office after the 2024 election saying "Welcome home." A powerful example of playing by the rules in the 1950's instead of today.
They certainly did "address" the things you list here. This has nothing to do with the people you mention. It's about, as you say, the lazy, uninformed voter who has succumbed to the power of right-wing media and social media.
When did the Democratic Party take on the Heritage Foundation? When did the Democratic Party expose the Heritage Foundation as the authors of Project 2025?
When did the Democratic Party elite take legislative action to deal with Russian propaganda in our legacy media and social media?
Tell me concrete actions the Democratic Party took over the past 40 years to forestall any of the things I mentioned. Just saying "They certainly did" doesn't prove anything
This part-time expat appreciates the reminder. I might miss a few local elections, but I make sure I do what I can to weigh in on state and national ballots.
I think we need more serious, competent grown-ups. I'm thinking Abigail Spanberger, Micki Scherer, Roy Cooper (among others). And yes, to all US citizens lucky enough to be living abroad during these insane times: PLEASE VOTE! Thank you Linda!
We are up against it, people. Be sure your voter registration is valid, and not purged or removed from the voters rolls. Citizens, especially those in 'red states', must contact their reps to stop the placement of election deniers in positions of authority where elections are concerned. We must protect the integrity of our elections and their outcomes. A massive turnout and win will help prevent the rejection of legitimate outcomes. Everyone must be on board this year.
T...someday you might understand that every individual makes choices that makes them the center of those choices...and, of course, not all well intentioned choices go the way the person choosing might want them to...
in any case, you seem to have taken parts of what i wrote and misrepresented them to suit your agenda...whatever that might be...i'll let you figure it out...
that was a personal choice, barbara...to override my previous decision when i felt i had cause to...i, obviously, didn't point out the cowardice behind someone like Hendrik's comment...including the 'we' bit...cowards usually like the security of a gang...witness your administration...got it all sewed up... Trump lies and the rest of the executive branches swear to it...and thanks. i was waiting for a response such as yours...that whole 'not responding to responses' was bait...
I wholly concur with Barbara in thanking you for your post, and expressing my condolences to you upon the loss of Prof. Dobel. I have seen and admired your posts here over the recent years, yet have never felt the emotional punch you packed until tonight, when speaking of this man.
Let's keep on keeping on, as your friend would surely have wanted.
Is not wisdom recognizing what most matters as well as what is most likely to be true? How do we choose where to put our energy? Which plan to follow; from whether to read this webpage to whether or not to marry, and to whom? Who to give help and who gets your vote. Nominal Republicans claim that they have the "Values Voters", but every living soul has values, and what matters is where they lead. Democrats have a lot of good idea and recognize our individual differences, but it seems to me we have not been talking about the crucial issues of honesty and integrity nearly enough. Like human disease, political corruption is never ended for good, but damn if it hasn't spread to a crisis level under all of our watch.
And I question whether any president should use social media to communicate with the nation. It's mirrored this one's decline, but a president who was busy doing the job would not have time for such vindictiveness. And one assumes that he has a little help from the "staff."
This. Barely noticed in all the idiocy is the fact that our demented, cankled fruitcake in the White House is fundamentally violating the very concept of 'faithfully executing the laws' by posting idiocies on something called "social media." WTF is that? Social media isn't a constitutional thing -- it's a private indulgence. Add to the fact, he posts something like 200 times in a night.
A government, not simply a president, lost in complete sundowning behavior isn't long for this world. Take heart.
He once ridiculed the 400-lb guy sitting in his parents’ basement … he has become the caricature he mocked. The overweight, sundowning (as you note), stubborn/smarter than his doctors, catered to, bigoted, raging grandpa using social media to scream his deterioration for everyone to read.
Trump says Maduro captured, flown out of Venezuela after U.S. strikes shake Caracas
By Antonio María Delgado
The United States carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela’s socialist regime early Saturday morning, bombing several military and key government installations and capturing strongman Nicolás Maduro, who was flown out of the country along with his wife, President Donald Trump announced on social media.
Un-fucking-believable. This is why we have a "war" department and no longer a Department of Defense. I am still in shock. I have repeatedly encouraged caution in our attacks on Trump because I think it could be counterproductive to overstate the case, but if this is true, he clearly becomes a criminal leader of our nation. He has no basis or authority to attack a sovereign nation and seize their President. We are entering into a very VERY dark and uncharted territory here.
It appears obvious on the face of it that a lifelong felon and scoff-law would faithfully do anything other than indulge his basest impulses, which is indeed what we see today. The demented cretin knows nothing else.
In Jack Smith’s testimony, which I read the other day, the Rs (specifically Gym Jordan) were worried about three things, one of which was how unreasonable it was to have expected Trump to show up in court in FL on a day he had ‘off’ from the other cases in NY. Jordan never saw the irony of his felon having so many cases against him he couldn’t appear at them all without stepping on himself.
Thank you. FDR: speeches of encouragement while standing with braces. DJT: babbling demented disparagement from his bedroom on his phone - like an angry abused kid.
It seems that trump embraces socialism in that he has been requiring companies to give partial ownership to the federal government.
I have never heard of any of the current politicians who describe themselves as Democratic Socialists calling for the government to take over all private businesses as the right wing would have you believe.
The political and economic elite, who have always enjoyed the overwhelming amount of power in the United States, will fight every politician or organization that wants to make the country a more democratic one.
I believe that is the reason the right wing has been opposed to education at least since the Reagan administration.
That is what is behind all book bans; they use religion to influence the weak-minded who are unreasonably bothered by alternative lifestyles, but they also ban books that contain political subject matter they would not like the majority of citizens to be aware of.
We are entering into a new paradigm of how people make a living with AI soon replacing most white collar desk jobs. And as the massive data centers come online, more of those jobs will be taken; AGI is not necessary for this takeover to occur. The elite do not care what will happen to these displaced workers and their families, and are salivating at the money they will save by eliminating those positions. The tech exists today to cause significant economic strife for Americans.
Well said, JL Graham. I hope this Mamdani line, as reported by HCR, sells in NYC:
Rather than using “the good grammar of civility…to mask agendas of cruelty,” he said, they would “replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”
Unfortunately, it probably wouldn’t sell in Kansas, nor probably any other state, even California and possibly not even if Mamdani’s governance in NYC is wildly successful, which I think is at least possible and that I very much hope will come to pass.
Just read about a new monthly infusion drug called Kisunla, to treat early Alzheimer’s/Dementia. Quite a few neurological effects are possible. Adverse side effect surveillance includes Brain MRI scans and cognitive tests.
One way the integrity of public service has been eroded is through the financialization of everything. A system where money is regarded as speech breeds elected officials who are bought and paid for by whatever interest puts up the most cash. This lowers the quality of people willing to serve and the quality of their work. At its base, is a whats-in-it-for-me ethos with no sense of public service.
Humans, on the other hand, are profoundly cooperative creatures who, at our cores, crave trust, honesty, and truth. None of the greatest, most lasting human endeavors are built on individualism. We respect it, because we need each other to achieve and grow. I am unfamiliar with Professor Dobel's work. Thanks for introducing him to us.
In light of the almost certainly illegal attack tonight on Venezuela and seizure of their President and first lady, Citizens United may quickly become the LEAST of our problems.
There is no integrity, no responsibility, no decency, no respect for law in this administration. 0% across the board.
This may be the one time I wish I could do Trump math to express what it feels like to be sucked down into a black hole of evil, corruption, and visciousness.
Citizens United will never become the least of our problems, no matter what. It is at the core of the dismantling of any sort of democracy. We live in a Corporatocracy, now....
Jon.., interesting to have clicked onto Aljazeera news earlier. We have just bombed the streets of a civilized country whose citizens have no idea of what our problem is. Surely they will understand that we are a Christian Nation. I didn't get that impression though.
Mike, if I may be candid, your point is well taken if not well expressed.
The notion that government should be run like a business is about as wrong-headed as any idea ever proposed. That fallacy gave us Donald Trump.
The fundamental difference between government and business is the former is a not-for-profit enterprise while the latter is solely for profit.
The purpose of tax revenues is to fund services to the public stakeholders who paid the taxes; every nickel should be spent without any surplus left over. The purpose of business revenues is to take money from the many (customers) and increase the wealth of the few (owners or shareholders).
Donald Trump, a failed, incompetent businessman – with the approval of far too many ignorant Americans – is trying to run the government like a business.
I’m sorry I didn’t express it well.. thank gawd a smart guy like you, turned up , I’m sure you know more than I would, ever know, about,.. I dunno.. being a heavy equipment operator and pipe layer in municipal water and waste water, because people like me are too stupid to understand that big picture..keep talking down ..makes you sound smart.. tell me some more Smart Guy..
Georgia, thank you for this forward thinking post! THESE are the discussions that need to take place to answer the question, “Where do we go from here?” What’s the plan as we move through 2026 and beyond the midterm elections? How do we rebuild, redesign, and re-establish these United States 🇺🇸 as a nation that represents the intentions of our Founders combined with the great needs, values, and protections that have been stripped away by this regime?
Beautifully said. It’s like we have to rebuild a moral and ethical infrastructure from scratch before we can begin to integrate the values, policies and legislation we need to craft a just society.
Yes, Georgia! Where is our outline for our “We the People Initiative-United for Democracy?”
Though I hate to refer to it,
this regime is built on their “Mandate for Leadership” and P2025…
“Project 2025 was primarily created and spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, as a comprehensive governing blueprint for the next conservative presidential administration. The initiative was launched in early 2022, and its core policy document was published in April 2023, the culmination of over a year of work.”
The ACLU explains the creation and implementation of Project 2025:
There is an updated set of heritage priorities for 2026 complete with model legislation for the state to meet each of their objectives. It is very scary reading.
Kari, your question is important, and unfortunately, probably will not be answered.
During my lifetime (call me "Mid-Century Modern"), the Republican Party has appealed to business executives and other "management types," while the Democratic Party has appealed to the working class.
In the 1960s, Republicans added conservative religious types to their coalition, people who are willing to wait a lifetime for their "heavenly rewards."
What does this mean in terms of group psychology?
Republicans have the executive skills – and patience – to develop a long-term strategic plan and then carefully put all the personnel and policies in place to achieve the goals of that plan, such as Project 2025.
By contrast, Democrats, one-day-at-a-time, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants folks aren't proactive, but rather, reactive. They wake up, eat breakfast, clock in, see what unfolds each day, then decide how to respond. Our only hope is that a small group of activists might devise a strategy and capture the imagination and work ethic of Democrats. Odds are against that happening, but it could happen.
I’m wondering if that’s what it looks like in the surface. Where is the Democratic Party leadership? In their absence, where are our future “Re-Founders?” Where are brilliant minds like the Obamas, Whitmer, Jeffries, Heather CR, Reich, let’s add to the list! We need a think tank and a plan.
HCR mentions Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and the person responsible for our having Social Security. Perkins' theory of government: "The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." I consider the New Deal economy to be an expression of Pragmatic Capitalism.
Comparing MAGA to the KKK, or equating the two, read Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland" about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's. It was defeated then and we can do it now, though it wasn't "killed" then, but went dormant.
Important point, Barbara. I read last night that the tech bros are starting to support Democrats, wanting influence in that party. There will be Democrats who want that money.
Much as I’d like to see the House turn Dem and even if they pour money into Dems, I support getting rid of Citizens United. All that does is capture our preferred side and turn them into bought-and-paid for Republicans.
AI is the oligarchs dream. It is their best means of complete takeover of this Democracy. The lobotomization of the American brain will escalate even more, our environment reduced to deserts and our health impacted by the god-awful data centers no one wants. Meanwhile the Democrats are more than happy to get on board. More and more I see no difference between an old school Republican and the Democrats today.
''The Two Inaugurations of January 1: One With a Quran, One With a Cognitive Test''
Just after midnight on January 1, something quietly remarkable happened in New York City. In a shuttered subway station, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor on a historic Quran. It was solemn, symbolic, and faintly subversive, like New York itself when it remembers who it is. A few hours later, Bernie Sanders administered a second, public oath on the steps of City Hall. There were speeches about dignity, collectivism, halal carts, aching knees, and strangers lifting strollers up subway stairs. It was earnest. It was civic. It was almost suspiciously adult.
Meanwhile, several hundred miles south, the President of the United States was also being sworn in. Not to an oath, exactly, but to a recurring online certification of PERFECT HEALTH, delivered entirely in capital letters. This affirmation came with supporting documentation from a cognitive exam he keeps retaking like a man refreshing a CAPTCHA until the internet finally believes he is human.
On one end of the country, a 34-year-old mayor spoke about restoring faith in government by serving the people who keep the city running. On the other hand, a 79-year-old president reassured the nation that his genetics remain elite, despite a documented diet of hamburgers, french fries, and whatever remains in the White House vending machine after midnight...
Contrasting Mamdani and Trump? I guess if Mamdani did nothing he would be 100% better than Trump. But that is not being a leader. From what I hear NYC does not have lots of money. Big plans and no money don’t mix well. They write songs about that. Part of what I am saying is it is way to early to attempt contrasting Mamdani with anyone other than other big talking candidates seeking to get their face on national TV with long winded speeches. Missouri has an outstanding motto, the "Show Me State." There should be skepticism for anyone within a two party system to brand themself as a member of the “Democratic Socialists of America.” To me it’s like being at a ball game with only two teams on the field and then come the Streakers to get some attention. Like someone scanning the sidelines for fringe money (attention). Bernard Sanders, now there is a real con man who also goes by that Democratic Socialist band. He, together with Comey and Putin put Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court. I will never forgive him for that either. He dared to say Hillary Clinton, the most qualified candidate in the history of the United States, was "not qualified" to be president. He dared to not concede his loss to Hillary for approximately five weeks demanding he have a say in the party platform. WTF? Those two actions turned-off some voters who stayed home and... Moreover, Mamdani, same as Sanders, ran for higher office as a “Democrat.” His winning IMO is a fluke based in desperation of Trump being the worst President in history thus staining the brand “Republican” plus a bad second choice in Cuomo. The problem we face now is how many Streakers are eyeballing Mamdani's win and will screw-up the chances of real Democrats by running in 2026 and 2028 as Democratic Socialist or maybe wearing the name Democrat in order to get a little attention (money)? It is a problem because in other regions full of swing voters they do not think the way New Yorkers do and may not like any too much that “Socialist... brand. IMO, vote lock step for true Democrats.
It was a ranked-choice vote with 5 candidates i the race. The "streakers" are less likely to win because they will get knocked out in the first round and their votes will be distributed to their second choice candidate. I am a fan of ranked-choice voting. because it would not have led to Democratic defeats if 3rd party candidates had not been spoilers.
I don't see him as a streaker.
Mamdani was a New York Assemblyman for 4 years for District 36 from 2021 to 2025. before he ran for mayor.
Mamdani was first elected to the New York Assembly in 2020. He defeated ten-year incumbent Aravella Simotas 51.2% to 48.6% in the Democratic primary and was uncontested in the general election.[3] According to Time Magazine, Mamdani's main focuses as a state legislator were housing and transportation reform.[4]
Zohran Mamdani served as New York State Assemblymember A Democratic Socialist, his record reflects progressive priorities on housing, criminal justice, and labor issues.
Mamdani consistently voted with the Democratic majority on fiscal and budget measures, including passage of bills like S 3967 (138-0), S 6360 (139-2), and S 8344 (110-31) in June 2025.
He supported reforms such as A 136 (81-67 on cannabis or housing-related) and S 804 (142-3), aligning with his platform on affordability and equity. Notable oppositions include votes against certain budget implementations, as seen in his video explanations on the Assembly site.
Legislative Focus Areas
Housing and Affordability: Advocated for tenant protections and public housing, stemming from his background as a foreclosure counselor; supported eviction moratorium extensions.
Criminal Justice: Backed the HALT Solitary Confinement Act and police/prison reforms.
Economic and Labor: Voted for marihuana regulation (A 9232, 124-22) and utility ownership bills like S 9679 (103-38).
Environmental and Social: Pushed for enhanced public participation in rulemaking and against executive overreach.
His votes emphasized socialist policies, with near-unanimous support in uncontested reelections (98%+ in 2020, 2022, 2024). For full details, Vote Smart lists over 20 key votes from 2024-2025.
The above was a Perplexity AI summary because I'm tired but It is easy to get detailed info on a candidate's voting records on Balletopedia.
After you do that you can decide for yourself if he was a "streaker." even bt Missouri standards.
Georgia, this is a great statement of position for an Assembly candidate in New York State which is a highly politically bifurcated state with a heavy concentration of progressive voters in New York City (Mamdani's district). And it coincides with the same outlook for the City which has always been relatively progressive, even with GOP candidates like Mayor John Lindsay who beat the rule of the GOP party in New York City by running on the Liberal ticket.
But it doesn't bode well for anyone seeking wider office. As it turns out Mamdani isn't eligible for President because he is not a native-born citizen of the United States. I am not even sure he would be successful running for governor of New York against Kathy Hochul. Again, we shall see how this all turns out, but I think we are getting ahead of ourselves to see Mamdani's victory (which I highly applaud and would personally support) as some kind of bellweather for the Democrats, especially nationally.
He is VERY young. He has lots of time to mature and prove his worth or not. But New Yorkers have often taken risks with Mayors. Some were stellar, many others not so much. He has 4 years to build a track record and Republicans/MAGA will be gunning for him for 3 of them. Time will tell.
It’s premature to be talking about Mamdani potentially running for higher office when he was just inaugurated as mayor. Who knows what his future aspirations are - right now, he is focused on running the City of New York.
When Democrats lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger in California I was a little happy to know that he was not a natural born citizen. Unfortunately many voters equate being a fan of a celebrity with endorsing a political candidate. Consider Reagan, Sonny Bono and reality TV Star Trump. I may catch hell for this but IMO Democrats should be more organized and support only young candidates for lower offices but all must be natural born. The reason is being in public office as they grow older and create a record a few will someday seek the keys to the White House. Then responsible voters can see their record. But as Will Rogers said, "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
Jon.., let's frame Mamdani as a person with 'progressive' ideas centered on democratic values. Quite unfortunately, IMHO, he or they have chosen to plaster themselves under a banner with the word "socialist". Some people haven't seemed to notice, that 'shit' hasn't sold well. Not in NYC or anywhere else in this country. Oops.., I'm sorry..., someone just asked me exactly what "shit" I'm referring to. Answer: We're Americans here. This is America. One Nation indivisible. WE the People..., by The People.., for The People. A Nation formed by immigrants who have come from other places where that "shit" (socialist.., communist.., fascist.., ist, ist, ist, etc) doesn't work. Or, hasn't worked well. Putins playground: the USSR - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Please excuse my use of S--t as the descriptor for this post. Thank you. Efforts by 'The Democrat' to align under a freaking WORD is going to be paradise lost.
SOCIALIST, SOCIALIST, SOCIALIST. Run for your lives. That kind of B.S. made the Republican party what it is today; the party of hate and fear mongering. From A.I. "The Red Scare refers to periods of intense fear and anti-communist hysteria in the U.S., primarily the first after World War I (1917-1920) and the second during the Cold War (late 1940s-1950s), driven by fears of radicalism, socialism, and communism, leading to blacklists, loyalty oaths, government investigations (like HUAC), and persecution, famously exemplified by Senator Joseph McCarthy (<<!McCarthyismism), impacting free speech and society broadly. " Following Red Scare 2, they expanded hate and fear to people of color with the Southern Strategy and then LGBTQ+. Trumps says Somali immigrants are "garbage" and "lowlifes", plus Haitian immigrants eat your dogs and cats. Maybe it is time for Red Scare #3? This is a two party system. Look at Bill Clinton and Ross Perot vs H.W. Bush. That is what happens and if it happens against us it is bad. Giving the enemy the name SOCIALIST scares me to death.
Frankly, I find it ironic that the party that once railed against communism -- and that continues to fear-monger with the word "socialist" -- is now supporting Vladimir Putin.
Putin is a corporatist fascist, a Tory, a Republican in the R.I.N.O. sense; a damn Nazi. Like a little boy with army toys Trump looks up to such people and so does Wall Street.
Thanks Albert. All these frightening terms. You know what, if you google them, they are pretty-much all defined. Google "American". You'll get American Airlines, first up. One must really dig deep to get down to what constitutes an American, and then it's pretty sketchy. But, socialist? Hahahah.., the definition comes right up. Being that we are the United States of "America". It's long past time that we define who the heck we are. We are NOT socialists! We are a country of immigrants together with many native inhabitants who have established (by hook or crook) a 'Nation' we call America. Basically, we are one big persona - What do we stand for? Better that gets defined, instead of figuring out what the heck a Democratic Socialist is. To our credit though, the word "democrat" is spelled out, while "republican" is referred to as "a party". Yeah.., it's a "party" alright, right along with their communist brethren they so disdain.
"Basically, we are one big persona - What do we stand for? Better that gets defined, ..." I agree. I, have been editing a Memo and model amendment on that topic. At this point it addresses 22 problems which the Supreme Court and Trump have created; holes in out government. One of those 22 sections states "The legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Government of the United States of America shall jointly and severally assure that this government, and all governments within the jurisdiction of the United States of America, are a Republican Form of Government in which power is held by the citizens thereof, and the powers granted to these governments by the people thereof shall be separated among a legislative, executive and judicial branches, to the end it shall be a government of laws and not of any persons, thus no monarch, dictator, or tyrant shall exist therein, and through fair, open and transparent democratic elections elect officials to make laws, and the enforcement and application of the laws are to provide equal justice under the law, and this Constitution shall secure the equal non-transferable rights of all individual persons against any majority vote. "
Interesting. Agreeable that we fall apart at the wrong time. Bernie not supporting a flawed candidate Hillary is like Ralph Nader taking 90,000 votes and denying the best candidate for president in 100 years to a dumb mother f-er that set up the destruction of our country with his Supreme Court nominees. So I get it.
Yup Albert, tacking "socialist" onto it is like trying to rebrand the Edsel. It's an error that comes with a 'cost'. Ray Charles could "see" that. I'm assuming anyone reading this post might recognize the two puns I've cited. True Democrats, espouse democracy, which properly carried out encompasses a fair and honorable system. Enough of this "Edsels are the answer" bullshit.
I agree that is definitely the hope for the future that Mamdani brings and as well as a rememberance of what we have to get back too.
I was thinking specifically about DOJ, and how it had been perceived before Trump as an institution with integrity and a culture of values, and norms against slippage in those characterisitics. As Dobel argues in his book, it is individual leaders and managers, and workers adhering to their promises (or oaths) and individually taking responsibility and exhibiting courage of their beliefs and personal integrity that are responsible for both implementing and upholding the institutional culture.
All of that is utterly gone in the present DOJ. Project 2025 did its job of populating not just the upper ranks of the DOJ with its corrupt political appointees, but of driving out most of the mid-level career lawyers who upheld the institutional standards and norms with their personal integrity. There is way more to build back than just a corrupt top—it requires repopulating the middle ranks.
And in response we see he attacked another country and captured their leader…clearly the failing has begun, as we have now jumped the shark! Of course the GOP love the strained leadership of Donny-John…it is funny he removed a strongman who likely succeeded in stealing an election. What does that tell you? Doesn’t like the competition?
We need more courageous Mamdani's who take their faith seriously and who truly want to serve the people...not just fill their investment/bank accounts.
Thank you! If you are interested at all in the war in Ukraine and the US involvement that is my focus these days on a “‘view from the porch"
There is not alot of coverage anymore after 4 years, and the mainstream media is lazy and biased, and just amplifies Trump clickbait. Breaking with our European allies is going to have a profound effect on US foreign policy, and our economy. It is the culture I was raised in, so I have skin in the game.
Democratic establishment take note: Mamdani is what is referred to as a “leader.” Note the contrast - he rallies people by talking about what he is going to DO, and makes it abundantly clear that he has their back. You, on the other hand, rely on garnering votes by endlessly telling people that “Trump is bad,” hoping that they won’t notice that you haven’t crafted a coherent policy platform in what seems like decades. At the risk of alienating your corporate sugar daddies, stop trading in mealy-mouthed nonsense and work for the things people want: Universal healthcare. College and trades education that doesn’t come with crushing debt. Wages that support families. An attack on wealth inequality. A climate that won’t incinerate the planet.
Meanwhile Trump has gotten us into a war with Venezuela, without even telling us. We are attacking the country with bombings like Nixon's covert bombings of Cambodia.Trump needs to be impeached. Vance too if he knows about this.
Time the slow impeachment so that conviction occurs p Jan 3, 2027, with 33 senators who were up for re-election while impeachment was #1 issue for re-election.
Sun Tzu might advise: Time impeachment to best exploit T’s terminal terrors and Vance & Theil’s (and Altman’s, Musk’s Zuckerberg’s, Bezos’, Andresson’s, Ellison’s, Huang’s, Diamond’s,…) oligarchic ambitions. They will try to move T out well before midterms, but that speed may not be in the interest of democracy.
Expecting the military may need to enforce the constitution during midterms (paper ballots & massive manual audits). The leadership will need support, but most are smarter than most elected officials.
Both a midterm wave and conviction of most/all of corrupt cabinet is needed - or democracy in US will be gone for good, and violence will replace it.
Read: The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality, by historian Walter Scheidel. Also, Fall of Great Powers, by Paul Kennedy. Re-read: Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth, and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century, by Alvin & Heidi Toffler, with the view that power has shifted yet again, from knowledge to attention control. Then Read: Your Face Belongs to Us, by Kashmir Hill. And you've already read, Freedom’s Dominion, by Jefferson Cowie & Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson. And of course, for context & quotes, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon.
Then, for reassurance that there is lots of intelligent life on earth, read A Brief History of Intelligence by Max Bennett.
Understand that AGI is the most anti-democratic tool ever invented, as it enormously facilitates oligarchy - the very one that creates it. Like the bomb it can’t be uninvented. Unlike the bomb, AGI will be owned by China. To its builders, it represents a power singularity.
T is for Tottering Tyrant, but OMG is for AGI enabled Oligarchy by our ‘Other’.
I would disagree. Impeachment by itself sends a message, makes people aware perhaps of something they wouldn't ordinarily be aware of. Plus it puts it in the Nation's permanent record. And maybe, just maybe, put the fear of God in the next asshole that wants to commit Sedition.
Which we CLEARLY DO NOT. Conviction requires 67 votes. THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY the Democrats could get 20 GOP votes to support an impeachment conviction. NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.
"Unless we KNOW we have the votes in the senate..."
I disagree. If a strong case is made with witnesses and public exposure, and if the House managers are given the right to voir dire, it's possible to hold the senators to their oaths.
IMHO the house managers in Trump #45 impeachment # 2 committed legal malpractice when they failed to call witnesses....
WARNING....The invasion of Venezuela comes on the heels of a warning from Ben Meiselas today of a post made last Sunday on Curtis Yarvin's far-right substack, "Gray Mirror." Ben Meiselas stated: "Yarvin warned that the second Trump Administration already looks like a " failure" and a "tragedy" that has lost momentum and that, without a manufactured crisis, Republicans could wipe-out in the midterms and face legal consequences down the line. Yarvin is somebody who many Maga faithfuls look to for guidance, especially figures like JD Vance."
Yarvin influenced Project 2025 and many Magas. Also, Peter Thiel helped finance one of his computer platforms. Yarvin's predictions forewarn of desperate measures to come and give the "cornered rats" more incentive to protect their cheese.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and claim the opposite about JD Wanker -- he's as magnetic and influential as a cereal bowl filled with cold, slimy eels. "Dimmer than a small appliance bulb" was an appropriate quote I once heard. I doubt even MAGA can look at this wormy, eyelinered phony without rolling their eyes. In prison, the term for him would just be "little bitch." Satan himself could stand behind him, and that's all he'd still come across as. Maybelline Mini-Me on wheels.
Clearly, Venezuela is a manufactured crisis, to say nothing of the 3-year-old comment to Iran today about being "locked and loaded." There is no point, no substance, no meaning, no strategy, no there there at all. On display is weakness, not strength or resoluteness. Surely every high-ranking military officer knows it, too.
What will the military do when the US wakes to the kidnapping of Maduro and his wife? Little Marco must be out of government before he repeats in Cuba. That he is applauding makes him criminally complicit. Who are we today? If we don’t find out fast, we are toast. Civil war?
I certainly hope NOT civil war. But we are probably a lot closer to something along those lines than we were the night before New Year's Eve. This can go wrong in so many ways, and Trump has all the power.
Yes, this is already a disaster and could get worse.
Unfortunately there is a huge difference between Nixon's era and now. When Nixon bombed Cambodia, and then got his henchmen to break into the Democratic headquarters and Watergate, the Congress (both houses) had clear Democratic majorities. Those majorities had the votes to impeach (easily) and even a decent chance at conviction in the Senate with just a few GOP votes.
Today, the House is 220-215 GOP and the Senate is 53-47 GOP. It is POSSIBLE with the help of a few GOP congresscritters that an impeachment could be pressed against Trump (and even Vance) but there is virtually NO CHANCE that a conviction could be secured in the Senate. That would take 20+ GOP Senators to vote with the Democrats (assuming all the Democrats voted for conviction) and that is NOT going to happen in any current world. I am not even sure that a majority would vote for an impeachment conviction in the Senate (51 votes and that wouldn't mean anything anyway).
If this illegal bombing of Venezuela draws significant media and political outrage, the political climate MIGHT start to sway, but I still doubt there will ever be enough support for an impeachment conviction.
Now a cynic, I kept agreeing with your words until I read “draws significant media and political outrage”. Of course I hope you are right but we have the worst Scotus in history that gave the President keys to unbound corruption, a Congress dominated by MAGA fools, and a press largely owned by billionaire MAGA sycophants. But, I will control my cynicism (which is new for me) and revert to hope, just like Obama reminded us.
As Republicans might be reminded of the law, perhaps they will at last recognize that they are following a felon, come to their senses, and listen to their voters.
George, my hope is that the vote of November 2026 will take place and be part of a return to sanity. I work on it every day, and some days there are good results. Do you know about the mayor-elect of Miami?
There was nothing remotely covert about this, Linda. He's been threatening to do this for months and now he's gone and done it. The administration has been stepping up its attacks on so-called narco-terrorists but now the lie has been exposed and regime change is on its way although the Venezuelan, Delcy Rodriguez, claims she's now in charge is demanding proof that Maduro and his wife are still in charge.
Trump has also recently made similar threats about the military being 'locked and loaded' if Iran kills protesters, something that the regime did throughout his first term in office.
Russell, did you laugh when you read Trump's declaration that our country shouldn't be run by stupid and incompetent people? I did. Its laughable, but sad and frightening that that is indeed what is happening.
You have said your mother has dementia. Would you trust her with the nuclear codes? Do you truly believe trump is accountable for his confabulation? I spent an hour with my demented grandmother. Nearly the entire time she mumbled, but 3-4 times she would glance up, make eye contact and I could see was looking at me, Donnie; and then it was gone. My mother was in a coma. At first her eyes would flutter when she heard my voice, and she would even pick up my hand and put it on her forehead. Should I blame them for what was happening? I put on my man-pants and listened to "trump's" speech this morning. I could see instances where he paused and wanted to go off-script, but didn't. I wonder why?
Donald my mom does have dementia. My mom could not keep the nuclear codes because she would lose them in a second. She is 91.5 years old, and so has a few years on Trump. Still, I would not trust Trump with the nuclear codes if he were in the prime of his life either.
Lifelong student of history and government and I always learn something new — a fact, a perspective — from your columns; thank you for that. In the Dec. 2 one, especiallyadmired the walk~off graf: perfect placement, just the right touch.
Also have been enjoying the exchange this past week or so between two medical sorts, each with appropriately impressive CVs. The first unwound before us a strong factual chain pointing to Trump receiving weekly injections of a drug used not to prevent Alzheimer’s!s but, when the condition already is established, to slow its progression.
The second counters (in caps, no kess) that it’s not Alzheimer’s but that Trump’s symptoms
Strongly indicate he suffers from the shrinkage — the literal disappearance — of the frontal temporal lobe of his brain.
I couldn’t even attempt to choose which, if either, are correct but even if the accurate diagnosis is behind Door 3, none of the presidential actions these past months are what one would hope to see from the chap who still, I cannot forget, has the launch codes
Which is a way too verbose way of saying that I begin 2026 eagerly awaiting people such as yourself to start examining what comes next — when Congress and other American institutions (universities, networks, heritage bewspapers, cities and states) start to move to reassert the limits to presidential power.
In short (at last! You say), I begin 2026 eagerly awaiting the curtain to rise on Act 2. And I can’t wait to read what you think of it!
His brain could shrink to 50% of what it is and he would still have three times the brain of anybody on this blog, including your illustrious leader, Heather.
The curtain is gonna rise on act two it’s gonna be the best you America’s had in a long time. Try not to miss it.
If Dems lived in touch with our humanities in touch with the people, Dems would be alive.
Alive to the hurt abroad the land. Alive to the need for clear iteration of programs such as Mamdani clearly knows the people need.
But Dems are in touch with virtually none of our humanities. Rather, abstractions rule for them, and views of people as units in groups only. Or numbers, as in amounts of funds raised.
I have a list of several dozen super fine Dems -- each individually great, in public offices at every level across America. But there's no coherence among them, none of them calling out the fine qualities of the others -- and none appearing as guests for Dems otherwise lonely and forgotten by Dem leadership in red parts of America.
I say, that's where our best Dem voices need to be raised.
Mine is that most D’s (and R’s!) were busy with kids, sports, school/work, eating and sleeping, while being misdirected by the small number of bad folk (which mostly good folk elected - but what good person would ever want to serve in US gov’t AND has enough money to buy the requisite votes?), AND by the commercial (eg, ‘owned’) misinfotainment media.
In brief, they're not rational choices, nor our best options; they are plutocratic face paint.
Dems will never have enough money to buy the “requisite number of votes.” Dems depend on “the kindness of strangers” much of the time while repubs depend on the billions and the clever dirty tricks of the psychopaths who have vast experience gouging the rest of us
‘Combined, Bloomberg and fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer spent over $1.4 billion in their own funds to self-finance their 2020 primary campaigns. Even without factoring in that unprecedented influx of self-funding, Democratic candidates in the 2020 primary still outspent Republican candidates in the 2024 Republican primary by about $500 million.’
I have nothing but pity for those who believe themselves to be allegiant to one party how utterly stupid ignorant closed minded and closed off from reality. And that goes for people on either side of the aisle.
To a large degree, yes, loyalty and allegiances are not rational. (But one might point out that mother nature's reality favored kin-selection and tribalism OVER AND OVER because it was more effective (e-motive?) than our fair-minded (?) rationality.)
My own objection to usual party allegiance may or may not be similar to yours; my objection is that party loyalties are a cultivated orthogonal misdirection of priorities by the oligarchs.
We the People on the bottom desperately need to unite against the top, & to NOT allow ourselves to be divided by the top, as left v right!
For almost 50 years, I’ve been a independent voter registered. Independent I have never understood how somebody religiously aligned with a party could think for themselves rationally without being let astray in group think bubble think weakness almost like living in a circle jerk of banishment. Mark your analysis is OK, but there are too many fervent haters today. All they need to hear is the word Trump and the brain goes into electric shock. In the meantime they can’t name one policy that has negatively affected them. It’s really sad.
Here you go Mark here’s a newly uncovered little Diddy I found from 1989 Joe Biden in his own words and yes, this is the same Joe Biden that while in Congress held up a nickels worth of cocaine in his hand and he said if anybody is found with this much cocaine mandated five years in prison, no parole, but it doesn’t include my son lol O L
And here’s the link I was talking about Joe Biden in his own words
1989
Here to all you Biden lovers. Here’s a little presentation and a link Joe Biden his own words we need to go after these narco terrorists. With a strike force oooops
And here is a little known video with Joe Biden himself talking about increased enforcement against narco terrorist. Here is Joe Biden in his own words. 1989. This is very similar to Joe when he held up a nickels worth of cocaine in his hand on the floor of Congress and said anybody in possession of this five cents size of crack cocaine should go to prison five years no parole….. except if his name is Hunter Biden. He didn’t really say that I just added it but here’s his little narco terrorist speech in 1989
The diversity is a strength - so long as it is accompanied by a greater strength of a conviction in the NECISSITY of mutual tolerance and inter-group support among the big tent D parties.
As soon as ‘my’ special interest or identity group is more important than yours, or ANY other dem sub group, Dems are Done. We become pathetic pup-tent dems.
AMPLIFICATION of ‘our’ selfish small-minded, identity-politic, myopically-focused internal-division DISEASE is how Putin - a third rate power- destroys NATO (~strongest alliance in history of the world). Without a shot. Pure Sun Tzu.
Sowing division among the opposition is how any group destroys another.
Time to put our relatively insignificant personal pet projects aside.
So true, big tents make for lots of petty conflicts often. Repubs seem to have over-arching interest in hate, greed and power. How can public service compete…
Here to all you Biden lovers. Here’s a little presentation and a link Joe Biden his own words we need to go after these narco terrorists. With a strike force oooops
And here is a little known video with Joe Biden himself talking about increased enforcement against narco terrorist. Here is Joe Biden in his own words. 1989. This is very similar to Joe when he held up a nickels worth of cocaine in his hand on the floor of Congress and said anybody in possession of this five cents size of crack cocaine should go to prison five years no parole….. except if his name is Hunter Biden. He didn’t really say that I just added it but here’s his little narco terrorist speech in 1989
Here’s what the Democrats have right now Phil nothing no leaders no agenda except for hate Trump. You got the wacko that drove California into ruins.
You got the ex bartender who gives us only four more years to live because of climate change and now she has the resurrect herself for that belief
You have Buddha judge who spent billions of dollars and gave us nothing
Do you have Jasmine crockpot What else you got? Yeah you can get or you can run cackling kneepads again that will work. The only person you have that can make it is a person that the left hates right now …a Jew. So good luck Philly.
Actually, Rick, 'the left' does not hate Jews, nor Israel. Most on the left are not 'locked-in'. They have Jewish friends, neighbors, colleagues, and/or family. I am protestant, but like many, have hundreds of Jews in my contact list - not unusual for an adult businessman or professional. I've been uniquely honored to be groomsman in two Jewish weddings in my long life. I'm a preacher's kid, but I've been to synagogue.
Many on the left DO despise Netanyahu. I sure do. Must give you that.
And extreme Zionism is exactly as morally bankrupt as extreme Islam.
But Mamdani - ya gotta love that man - I hope he delivers for NY. So inspiring and courageous a leader!
ZM: "And Trump, I know you're listening.
I have 4 words for you: TURN THE VOLUME UP!"
-and then the crowd screams, of course.
It will be even harder than he imagines (speaking as a retired career civil servant - state, federal, and international posts). But he, Bernie, AOC, ... and other social democrats are on (long) course to correct America's morbid fascination with wealth, greed, power corruption, and general ass-hole-ness. And they are getting a growing reception from left AND right.
America is known for always finding the best way forward - after exhausting all other possibilities. Keep the faith.
it’s funny when you use a term like Zionism that 98% of the population of the world don’t even have a clue as to what it means and it’s not an impetus in anything except when it comes to Muslims hating Zionist that’s it
https://t.co/bgObQwBYWJ There’s one more beauty for you when you talk about New York and I hope you enjoy the video I sent you true story of the legacy of Socialism throughout the world in history
I have faith in everybody that doesn’t have a residence right here
Bernie Sanders, the self-loathing Jew is a lost soul and a lost cause AOC is going to have to Ducker prediction of global disaster for years from now will probably end up going back to bartending.
And you’re dreaming if America thinks I could find the best way forward
Actually sent in 13 million more votes for Joe Biden who had done nothing as entire life had no legacy legislation just was a civil servant for 40 years with no outstanding record they gave him 13 million more votes than Obama, the god. The only reason they did that mark is because the opponents name was Trump. They ended up being wrong about everything. About five months ago, I posted the top 20 accomplishments of Trump and there’s been 50 more since then every single thing he’s done for this country so far has made it a better place to live better economics, better safety, the lowest crime, the lowest violent crime in decades, and this year is gonna be better because of the big beautiful bill that targets a lot of the poor. If you want to start blaming somebody for medical care, blame Barack Obama
By the way, did you notice the nice Palestinian flag march in New York City the other day nothing but Palestinian flags and signs about the Jews in Gaza in New York City
Mark Pay, attention Mr. Mo Tommy was kind enough to light the world trade tower to celebrate Muslim appreciation month in the middle of New York he has condemn Jews at every turn and where do you see what’s gonna happen with the self-loathing Jews in New York they’re gonna be scurrying for other states pretty quick
And didn’t I didn’t say they all hate Jews but for some of the votes and some of the things they support like the Palestinians, when they don’t understand that the Palestinians are occupying a self loathing and self-deprecating Gaza when they elected, that’s correct when they elected a Muslim terrorist organization to run their government so instead of providing their own electrical plants or water plants, they use the money that they get from the world for weapons
Just so you know, there were billboards growing around the country and here’s what the BILLBOARD says and they’re posted right at airports right against the airport fence line and it says if you think turbulence is scary, try wearing a Jewish star
I’ll give you the perfect definition for what my dummy will be he will be the exact meaning of the following sentence. The road to hell is paved with good intentions
Did you watch the video of bill Maher i’m gonna find it and share it with you and then maybe you’ll understand a little bit more in depth of what’s about to happen to New York
Well, you’re right about one thing there are too many self-loathing Jews in New York who will go to learn very quickly what it’s like to be a Jew in the city run by an antisemite. And I’m gonna enjoy every minute of it because when you say people find a way well guess what? Sometimes it takes going the wrong way like they did with Joe Biden before they get there and it’s gonna be very painful. What’s gonna happen quickly? Is that many of the wealthy are going to leave if they can and then there will be no one to pay for what New York needs
And it’s really sad that almost all the blue big blue cities are in deficits California 80 billion even though they keep doubting their fourth highest economy in the world and then they can’t pay their bills and they let 12,000 houses burn and they let crime run, rampant and poverty and homelessness. It’s absolutely disgusting and I lived there for 30 years and got the hell out because I couldn’t stand to look at it anymore.\
Used to be the shining city on the hill now it’s the pile of shit on the hill
That is losing a half 1 million people every year as is New York as a Chicago not that many but guess what in all those territories they’re losing 20% of the population of anybody knew if 40% are coming in 60% are leaving
Here’s the problem MARK, that many people don’t know about Israel. There were 2 million Palestinians living in Israel outside of Gaza. They get along with the Jews every single day of their lives, and it’s only because the Palestinians decided to hire Hamas a terrorist organization as their government is why there’s problems there. End of sentence.
Well, MARK, you’re in for something good then because this has nothing to do with Bill Maher, he has a video of what Socialism has done around the world in historical and factual terms. He’s just showing you evidence and when you see it then you’ll believe it. This has nothing to do with mar, but it happens to be right on and when you see it you’re you’re gonna be unable to deny it. so here it is. Stay with her until he starts talking about New York
The Republican “vision” is inarticulable in that it changes day to day. America First… oops South America First… oops American oil first, oops American oil Companies first!!
No new wars… ok a few new wars! “We’re not the police for the world… okay wait.. we are.” Grocery prices lowered on Day One…thousand, hey that’s Biden’s fault…Don’t worry about grocery prices, you’ll make it up on gas!!
Republican leadership as of late has not been very good. Donald Trump is the best president in the last 40 years since Bill Clinton. Bush one and two they both love their country, but we’re stupid. Idiots.
I voice text everything and and closing down free speech not the American way, except for cowards like you.
This is not about my college dissertation or my doctoral thesis and any intelligent human, which apparently does not include you in your hubris thinks that form is more important than content, and that way gives them the ability to ignore the facts and the logic and the content
Good luck to you apparently the next three years are gonna be your nightmare because 2006 is going to be much better than 2005 which is on a rocket ship ride of success in every segment of American consciousness.
I did not shut you down. What you wrote was incomprenensible. An intelligent person would have already learned to proof read voice to text. So, that leaves you out in the cold. Your threat about the next three years is as absurd as your other claims, I shall do just fine, no matter what happens.
Yawn at your own pleasure no issue for me. I just clicked on your arrow and your comment line and it wouldn’t let me come in so I ended up posting to one of your older posts, but it would not allow me to respond and that’s why I said what I said.
And if you’d like to refute the facts, oh never mind, you don’t want to refute the facts. You’re just gonna burn them.
Well, and I am the only protestant in the room and because of that I have to answer many many posts here… add my assumption, which is apparently incorrect intelligent people like yourself would be able to discern the meaning, even if there was a typo, a misspell the lack of a capital letter or ending the sentence with a preposition or a dangling participle my threat about the next three years? What the hell is that? I’m not threatening anything I’m basing it on. What’s gonna come next year in the way of tax refunds $2000 tax-free savings already per car vehicle owned on gas savings or raise an income by two grand per car owner. Ain’t no tax on tips no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security for those who qualify which are only those at the lower end of the economic scale the tariffs, which continue to roll in that have not caused the kind of inflation that anybody imagined people have all been wrong about that, including People like Bill Maher, a left-wing stand out and even fed chair Powell, who said these have not had the kind of impact that we thought And do you know why they haven’t anybody in business knows why exactly they haven’t and that’s why most of the people here have not been literally in the business world and don’t understand
Within two months after Biden took Office he opened the border without going to Congress and allowed anywhere between eight and 12 illegal immigrants to enter this board this country. He also flew people in from places like Venezuela and brought in members of tren
de Aragua some of the most dangerous people in the planet. Grocery prices went up 20% two months after Biden took office gas prices doubled soon thereafter mortgage rates tripled and the inflation rate went to 9% and with Donald Trump is having to do right now is to clean up that entire disaster which left nothing but sewage for Trump to clean up.
The happiest thing about your entire post was that no matter what you’re gonna do fine and that makes me feel really good. Because most of the people here are projecting disaster with their broken crystal balls and their Ouija board and have been doing so all year when the opposite has happened so thank you for your post I feel very comfortable if you’d like to continue to admonish my posts critique my posts or agree with my post free World and I welcome you
Well, it was superficial, but it started right here. Lolololol.
And the best thing know about most liberals they are graded criticism. They’re graded insults and they’re great ant ignorance. WITH NEVER ANY RATIONALE OR FACTS AT ALL to back up their ignorance
Wow. Where to even start with that crap. Oh well, Not worth the effort arguing with someone that can not write intelligently. Go to school, learn English, get back to me.
Keep it simple. Wages of Americans have been kept to low. Washington state has the highest minimum at over $17. Corporate American has kept wages low. $25 should be the bare minimum. That makes so much more affordable. Like groceries, rent, health and transportation.
“Patrick unfortunately for you you make it obvious you’ve never been in business in your life. Really sad. Restaurants around the country are going out of business, mostly in California because of the minimum wage being unaffordable to the owners, causing them to raise prices that the people that now got the raises can’t even afford to buy food in their own restaurants.
Major restaurant changes have closed forever others are closing restaurants, including McDonald’s Subway even Starbucks is closing locations and some companies and some companies have gone out of business and you’ll never see them again because of what you want. You have never ever been in business in the retail area ever obviously sad
Mark Proulx, Kamala Harris’ platform was exactly “healthcare, education, affordable housing and green energy”. Her message couldn’t get past the right-wing narrative of “Democrats are transgender for everyone, guns for no one, and, they’re giving your money away to a bazillion rapist immigrants (who are eating the cats and the dogs)”. And certainly your message reflects this reality. The DNC and Democratic leadership have ignored the infrastructure needed to win elections. There is no apparent equivalent to the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, Fox News, and more recently the Washington Post, the NYT, CBS and so on. For the sake of our democracy we need to recapture the narrative and reestablish the difference between truth and lies. A poorly informed public went to the polls (or stayed home) and the ascendancy of autocracy is the result.
Democrats KNOW tRump is bad, we can all see it in real time. The democrat “establishment” HAS to “endlessly tell people he is bad” so that his incompetence isn’t normalised in the news media and citizen discourse. The Democrats under Obama started the process toward Universal Healthcare. The Democrats under Biden initiated the process toward student debt relief. The Democrats have supported a living minimum wage and have Led the World in Climate Change policy initiatives. So, I don’t understand the thrust of your post. It has been obvious to those of us in the democratic fight that these are exactly the policies that the party promotes. And instead a minority of voters apparently preferred fairy tales of pet eating immigrants and tariffs.
I agree that most elected officials are definitely not leaders; the fact that campaigning seems to have become a popularity contest that the candidates hope to win signals to me that they are followers.
I guess you haven’t been around very long when you were in school with the people that got A’s when you were in school with the people that got D’s and seas do you think their outcomes were the same in life? It’s also called effort inequality so get a grip.
Yeah, nobody says and watch New York guy in the process. I guess you don’t follow socialism, huh? Let me give you the definition.
The road to hell is paid with good intentions. He celebrates Muslims when there’s 1 million Jews in the city. This is gonna be the best thing that ever happened to America within a year and changed the political Landscape to republican in New York for the first time since Giuliani
Mark Proulx, Kamala Harris’ platform was exactly “healthcare, education, affordable housing and green energy”. Her message couldn’t get past the right-wing narrative of “Democrats are transgender for everyone, guns for no one, and, they’re giving your money away to a bazillion rapist immigrants (who are eating the cats and the dogs)”. And certainly your message reflects this reality. The DNC and Democratic leadership have ignored the infrastructure needed to win elections. There is no apparent equivalent to the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, Fox News, and more recently the Washington Post, the NYT, CBS and so on. For the sake of our democracy we need to recapture the narrative and reestablish the difference between truth and lies. A poorly informed public went to the polls (or stayed home) and the ascendancy of autocracy is the result.
Everyday Americans can write a new story not only in New York - but all over the country. Just keep using your voice and demanding better (and accountability for so many things currently happening)
There’s a calendar on my spreadsheet so we can target our calls/letters/emails/faxes to flood offices in an organized manner.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Nokings) as a resource to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Add a comment to help keep this bumped ✊ New eyes seeing this means new ripples for change! 🤞
Megan is a good guy just unfortunately hasn’t had to deal with the reality of socialism. And a good example of that is Cuba and Venezuela. As soon as socialist over Cuba, all the wealthy left within the first three years doctors, lawyers, accountants and businessman as soon as Maduro took over and Venezuela, or his predecessor had started socialism. They took it from one of the wealthiest countries in the world bragging about their wealth to the average citizen actually losing 30 pounds For not having enough food to eat
About what? What are you gonna do when Trump sends a missile into the Kremlin and kills Putin? Oh my God it’s unconstitutional that was an authority use of the military. He wasn’t authorized. He should be arrest arrested. He should be impeached you people are with some of the most ignorant human beings on the planet. It’s just disgusting to watch.
I will be certainly calling my congressman (James Walkinshaw) Monday morning to urge he do whatever it takes to move articles of impeachment forward with utmost urgency.
Megan a year from now you’re gonna erase the story of New York from your memory
He celebrates Muslims when 1 million Jews live in the city and wait till you see all of them who are starting to move already. Anybody wealthy was not physically attached to the city is going to be leaving just like they did in California half 1 million a year including huge companies.
A study of contrasts between an energetic democratic socialist celebrating human potential and an embittered, enfeebled old man whose vitriolic hatred keeps him up all night.
”and I stand just as resolutely alongside those who did not…. I promise you this: if you are a New Yorker, I am your Mayor. Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you.”
GOP = "Greedily Odious Plutocrats," aka "GOPorkers," aka "RepubliKlan Party." Alas, the post-Kennedy "Democratic" (sic) Party is not that much better. By contrast, Mayor Mamdani, with his resurrection of the New Deal, is truly our future -- if indeed we are to have any future at all. (Born when two of the greatest-ever Americans were in office -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt our President and Fiorello La Guardia the mayor of my birthplace -- never have I been prouder to be a New Yorker than now with Mamdani in Gracie Mansion, even permanently exiled as I am by gentrification.)
Why do I feel like ' Eagle going down ' is something Putin would say,very symbolic. Also I am surrounded by wind turbines here in Portugal. They are quiet and I've never seen a dead bird....what a crock of #@$#.
Fossil Fuels and Power Lines Kill More Birds than Wind Turbines
Yes, domestic and feral cats kill vastly more birds than wind turbines, with estimates suggesting cats kill billions annually in the U.S. compared to hundreds of thousands by turbines, making cats the leading human-caused threat, far surpassing turbines, buildings, and vehicles.
Bird Mortality by Cause (U.S. Estimates)
Cats: 1.3 to 4 billion birds per year (median ~2.4 billion).
Buildings (Windows): 100 million to 1 billion per year.
Vehicles: Millions per year (e.g., 200-214 million).
Communication Towers: Millions (e.g., 6.8 million).
Wind Turbines: Hundreds of thousands (e.g., 200,000 - 300,000).
Key Takeaways
Magnitude Difference: The number of birds killed by cats is thousands of times higher than those killed by wind turbines.
Context Matters:
While wind turbines do kill birds, their impact is relatively small compared to other human-related causes, especially cats and building collisions.
Primary Culprit: Unowned (feral/stray) cats are responsible for the majority of cat-related bird deaths, but pet cats with outdoor access also contribute significantly.
I’m sure a lot of this is true, but please don’t rely on AI for this information when it’s available from organizations like the American Bird Conservancy.
FYI. It is the tenth anniversary of the right wing extremist violent occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, in eastern Oregon.
“Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
On January 2, 2016, an armed group of right-wing activists[26] seized and performed an adverse occupation of the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon,[27] and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February 11, 2016.[28] Their leader was Ammon Bundy, who participated in the 2014 Bundy standoff at his father's Nevada ranch. Other members of the group were loosely affiliated with non-governmental militias and the sovereign citizen movement.”
Does the US Fish and Wildlife Service qualify as a legitimate information source in your opinion? Many likely discount it as a legitimate source of information (more true during Trump and other GOP administrations than when Dems are in charge) because it is part of the much maligned federal government. Many also probably categorically discount the American Bird Conservancy as nothing but a bunch of busybody bird watchers.
My comment was directed at the one topic of birds and windmills. It is well known that windmills are a serious threat to migratory birds. The original comment made about as much sense as saying "I don't know anybody who voted for Trump".
Do you have a source for your numbers? Respectfully, IMHO they are not believable.
Estimates for bird mortality from wind turbines in the United States vary. Earlier studies (2013-2014) suggested 140,000 to 679,000 birds annually. More recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data indicates an average of 234,000 bird deaths each year from land-based wind turbines. These figures are considered conservative and likely higher today due to increased wind farm operations.
A 2012 study found that wind projects kill 0.269 birds per gigawatt-hour of electricity produced, compared to 5.18 birds killed per gigawatt-hour of electricity from fossil fuel projects. 6 That's in part due to collisions with equipment (wind turbines aren't the only energy infrastructure birds can fly into), but mostly because of the ...
Birds vs. Wind Turbines: New Research Aims to Prevent Deaths
Jun 4, 2025Window collisions and cats kill more birds than wind farms do, but ornithologists say turbine impacts must be taken seriously. Scientists are testing a range of technologies to reduce bird strikes — from painting stripes to using artificial intelligence — to keep birds safe.
Fact Check: Do Windmills Really Kill Birds and Bald Eagles?
3 days agoDo windmills kill bald eagles? According to the American Bird Conservancy, wind turbines are responsible for killing between 700 and 1 million birds each year in the U.S., a figure that does include some bald eagles.
Jul 22, 2025Vehicle collisions are estimated to kill over 200 million birds annually. When viewed against these figures, bird deaths attributed to wind turbines, while not insignificant, represent a smaller proportion of overall avian mortality from human causes.
Images for do wind turbines, kill birds
AI images: show
Do wind turbines kill birds? Study the impact of wind power on bird ...
Do wind turbines kill birds? Study the impact of wind power on bird ...
I don’t know, but I imagine only birds large and numerous enough to damage planes, as was the case when Captain Sullenberger was forced to land on the Hudson River, are even noticed.
There are, in fact, proven ways to site and build wind turbines to minimize the impacts on birds… but this administration is removing environmental protections that have been in place for decades, and chances are that they won’t create additional regulations for wind farms.
Estimates for bird mortality from wind turbines in the United States vary. Earlier studies (2013-2014) suggested 140,000 to 679,000 birds annually. More recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data indicates an average of 234,000 bird deaths each year from land-based wind turbines. These figures are considered conservative and likely higher today due to increased wind farm operations.
Yes, wind turbines do kill birds, but the number is significantly lower compared to other causes of bird deaths, such as collisions with buildings and predation by house cats. Estimates suggest that wind turbines may kill between 140,000 to 1.17 million birds annually in the U.S., but this is a small fraction of the total bird mortality from other it’s good if you live in denial, there a mad Hatter
Would you like to know how many birds solar panels kill that are in a huge array
I was only commenting on the original inane statement about not seeing any dead birds around local wind farms. Made about as much sense as saying "I don't know anybody who voted for Trump".
Yes, wind turbines do kill birds, but the number is significantly lower compared to other causes of bird deaths, such as collisions with buildings and predation by house cats. Estimates suggest that wind turbines may kill between 140,000 to 1.17 million birds annually in the U.S., but this is a small fraction of the total bird mortality from other so in other words, it’s an acceptable amount of unnatural causes lol
This is just one link check out a few more Karen. Google do wind turbines kill birds in Portugal.
Well, don’t worry you won’t see anymore in the states either but I live in an area with a huge array of solar panels and the average couple years ago they were averaging about 900 birds a year being burnt to a crisp
What does it mean when the leader of a country has progressive dementia? And that country has the biggest military force in history? Leaving aside the repugnant politics of the MAGA, this would be dangerous regardless of party. The difference is that the Democrats, and even the old school Republicans, would do something about it. But not the MAGA. How does this end?
How does this end? It may not -- until November. But end it will. We have reached the flailing, not yet the failing, stage. It remains our duty and our joy to widen the cracks now appearing literally every day. MAGA is splintering, the dementia is accelerating, and Republicans are already mumbling about the need to spend more time with their families as they head for the exit door.
It is important to focus not just on the dangerous short-term, but the longer-term, after the Hindenburg cult has finally blown up. It's actually coming quite rapidly.
For just one thing dear Annabel, it means that others (you know who) are actually running the whole show, all the while with teams arrayed to pacify and praise the simpleton.
One could, and many did, predict exactly this on Nov 6, 2024. The fear and loathing of obvious evil have been overshadowed by the worship of power and evil. The eternal struggle…
Also predicted in 2015 and onward. “Republicans” have been brewing this stew for far longer in quiet clatches all over the country. Redmap was not the earliest sign.
To my surprise, someone commented on this site just a couple of days ago that nobody could have foreseen what trump and the right-wingers have done in the past year.
You would have to have not paid any attention to trump and his policies for the past 10 years, they have always told us who they are and what they want to do. Project 2025 was published months ahead of the 2024 election.
Anyone who paid attention to trump over the years knew he was lying when he said that he knew nothing about it during his campaign.
Venezuela is not that small (ranked 33rd out of 197 countries in geographic area, and 54th by population), and has a long history of guerrilla insurgency. We’ll find out how it works out for the MAGA regime to “occupy” such a place. They may be surprised.
You make valid points. So, I'm looking at a map of South America and yes it's bigger than Texas, and you're also correct it has a sizable population. And yes, its history is one of instability, corruption, and dictatorships.
Since 'small' is undefined I did use it as a description comparing it to other South American countries and us, the US.
So I stand corrected by your points.
That said, one of Trump's promises to MAGA was that we would not get involved in nation building or regime changes in other countries. It was a promise he made to MAGA adherents who questioned our losses and failure to establish democracies during the last quarter century.
You are correct to say there may be a surprise. But a surprise it will be, history usually doesn't go well when vacuums are created or superpowers don't learn the lessons of history.
Once we get through this, and we will, we need to elect representatives who will support age limits and terms limits. That is at the very least one of the most obvious guardrails that we can build to protect our democracy. And we need to start somewhere as soon as we can so the We the People know we are serious. As serious as Mamdani.
They are still valuable voices and votes in Congress today. Their age doesn't automatically make them lesser human beings or leaders politically. I endorse term limits for federal judges including Supreme Court Justices, but as long as people chose their representatives and Senators, I believe voters should determine how long they stay.
Like Chuck Grassley’s voters? McConnell’s voters? I used to be against this idea because I believed that we had an informed and educated electorate. I no longer believe that. I believe Democracy needs a little “youth shot” in the arm once in a while! And putting a limit of 65 years old isn’t exactly radical!!
Can't "like" you because of Pelosi -- a key conspirator in the capitalist malevolence that denied Sen. Sanders the presidency -- but I emphatically agree with you about our need for his "wisdom and determination."
Bernie, a remarkable man whom I deeply admire, was never going to win the presidency. Had he, it would have been a virtually empty victory. It is worse than an unfortunate circumstance that in this nation we have a mere 2 political parties with a jealously guarded lock on power.
That Biden, great as he is, was the Democratic candidate in 2024 was the blunder that ushered in the narcoleptic terror monger, Drumpf and his gaggle of criminals.
Neither of the two candidates should have been on the slate.
BS. While I appreciate the voice of Bernie Sanders and many of his policy suggestion (many of which were adopted and implemented by President Biden), Sanders lost the Democratic primary race for one simple reason: Bernie was incapable of building a broader coalition. He had four years to change that – and still failed. In fact, there was no evidence that Bernie even made a serious effort to expand his base.
What?? Bernie & Nancy have been great for decades! They both need to GO!! Younger people are needed! All reps, senators should be out at 65!! AND they should be succession planning and building up the ones to take their places!!!!!!!!
And at the state level too. Some of the fixes to the Trump/Republican excesses will require amendments to the Constitution. Like term limits, immunity and pardon power limits.
Example: Update the 14th amendment Section 3 to include President and Vice President to the list of officers.
We have federal term limits in the form of regularly scheduled elections every two, four or six years depending on the office.
One problem with artificial term limits is that they shift institutional memory and experience away from elected officials and toward unelected staffers and paid lobbyists.
Outlaw lobbyists then Ed. Haven't they been a problem for decades as have monopolistic corporations who hire lobbyists to pass regulations to bankrupt their upstart competition.
Do you think Scotus makes their decisions based on the US Constitution? Lobbyists, including the richest Americans and foreigners buy influence. Look at who Trump has met with in 2025. And Congress is just as bad if not worse.
How many letters and calls from a constituent does it take to equal the influence of one corporate lobbyist from a defense contractor or a health care insurance company?
The ability to lobby the government is fundamental to US governance. It is easy to unwittingly paint lobbies with a broad brush by mentioning a few that represent policies one opposes. But you suggest throwing the baby out with the bath water. Where do you imagine ideas and support for new legislation originate?
And are you a paid lobbyist Bill? How many great ideas have been quashed by lobbyists in the name of profits for large corporations. Lobbyists are out of control just as the wealthy are controlling the Federal government and many state governments with their wealth.
All lobbyists aren't bad, but I would bet that corporate lobbyists have killed more good legislation than they have supported. And that ain't right.
I think you are confusing money in politics with lobbying. It’s a common confusion. All federal lobbyists are registered. There are even separate House and Senate registeries. You might give them a look. Renewable energy, ring a bell? Veterans associations? Best to ban them. Public broadcasting? Handicapped? Environment, Science … and a thousand other interest groups.
Not to second guess your first impulse. It sounds like you support the right of citizens to petition their government. That’s actually called lobbying.
Maybe you just want to ban lobbyists for the tobacco or chemical or oil refining industries. Yeah, I get those feelings too. Outrage even. I’m also not fond of Drumpf supporters. But I don’t want to deny their right to vote. And at the same time I would not want to deny the right of citizens to petition their government..
I wholly agree that large groups of people are capable of voting for a dolt for Chief Executive. And there are lobbies that serve interests that I deeply wish they wouldn’t.
Voting is a personal matter, and how one casts a ballot is a personal matter. Lobbies are registered, generally and often publish position papers. Beyond that there is still something to be concerned with: quid pro quo.
Here it is. This is at least a double headed beast. Dirty money (also dirty influence) in politics and undue influence.
I don’t want to be unfair, though it seems to me that there’s a feeling that there is lobbying we don’t approve of and unfortunately that notion entirely eclipses everything else.
It’s OK. Republicans actually feel the same way, only their thing is voting. They object to the fact that people like you and me can vote anyway we choose.
I beg that we refocus on something we might change: PACS, Citizens United, the sources of dirty money.
The other problem, powerful industry lobbies that distort our political process, how is it? Take a look at our monopolies, our cartels, mega-banks, monopolistic control of public airwaves and the utter lack of enforcement of laws prohibiting them. Make no mistake, this is where the problem lies.
Then there’s the deeper question. Our domestic propaganda has long included the false notion that democracy and capitalism not only go hand in hand but are synonymous. Yes, perhaps and entirely not necessarily, but with a well defined caveat: regulation. OK, every time regulation is defenestrated, whoops! Corrupt money in the economic and political sectors “flood the zone”.
If we only enforced the good laws we already have, some of our issues, including certain lobbying issues would be ameliorated.
What we seek is a balance economically and politically. So long as we fail in this, we will fail to maintain our union.
Many corporations have increased their price per share by buying back stock instead of paying dividends. I would be lying if I said that my family hasn't benefited from this practice. It used to be illegal for corporations to do that, unless they registered the buyback and jumped through disclosure hoops.
Anyway, are these buybacks, insider trading since the companies and others act on this information?
Lobbying per se is not the problem, but rather paid corporate lobbyists. They are not going away, so a (partial) solution might be to ensure their efforts be as transparent as possible. One (partial) solution might be to require elected officials to clearly and publically acknowledge who is giving them money: perhaps make them wear prominent corporate patches on their clothes like race car drivers do, especially when they are in the Capitol and on the campaign trail. I say that both in jest and literally seriouslyz
I think that age limits more so than time limits are more easily articulable and defendable. Oregon has a maximum age of 75 for its Circuit Court judges; I have seen both doddering fools that hung on as late as they could and seen two "age out" that were both fantastic judges and on top of their game. I propose both 70 as a top age, along with an "emeritus" position for those who are still mentally and physically qualified to weigh in on matters.
“Play a tape all the way through”? What the heck does that mean? I have to listen to a whole Trump speech before I can throw up? No. Our not having term limits has made for a very lazy constituency. I believe we need to try something else.
The Presidency has a 2 term limit. Why can’t a Senator have a 4 term limit? That is 24 years!! Representatives could have a 6 term limit. That’s 12 years. There just needs to be an Exit Sign!
I hesitate to say IBS, as that would completely reveal how very dim you are. Btw, is it any coincidence that my created acronym for your handle also mimics a medical condition: Irritable bowel syndrome ? Happily, your one vote, borrowed from right wingers of a certain sort, only carries that much weight. Try an enema...
Of course Donald keeps to his criminal, hate-filled, destructive ways in contrast to Mamdani.
Of course he keeps covering for his pedophile pals -- does not want any of his fellow criminal “friends” to be hurt.
We’re talking about that deeply corrupt, moneyed world that floats the worst of the Clarence court. That keeps Congress silent, cowardly, spineless. That lets Donald freely murder, gerrymander, destroy, bribe, extort, lie, and smear his gold glitter and criminal name everywhere.
Yes, he and his billionaire “friends” raped girls for years.
I’m now reading Cameron Crowe’s great memoir, “The Uncool.” I’m early on, in the period of 1972, when he was just 15 and on his first trip up the 5 from his middle-class home in San Diego to the phantasmagoric Sunset Strip center of the world’s then-most-licentious rock-n-roll excesses.
At that time the Powell memo was barely a year old. The U.S.’s rich and corporate were still organizing their soon-to-be new, most far-right foundations to rid American public life (first, the schools, all levels) of the personal energy that underlay rock then, and fueled the parallel good vitalities of the anti-war movement, civil rights, feminism, Chicano field workers, and environmentalism.
But the billionaires and the corporate would win. And they’d not care a whit if 1,000 girls got raped over the many years of Donald’s, Jeffrey’s, Ghislaine’s, and they the billionaires’ power flaunting and cynical cavorting.
Power demonstrably tends to corrupt, and absolute power absolutely since no one with a sense of justice would seek it. History is littered with petty and powerful people who get their jollies breaking every rule they can, as Trump has done from very early on. Not every holder of wealth and power is a sociopath, but money and power tends to let them get away with it.
They won't "get away with it," J L, if we rededicate ourselves to humanities-keyed schools.
Give teachers more discretion as to the novels and memoirs they might assign. They could let the students pick books they'll read -- and later write reviews for the other students, or give oral presentations on what they found most valuable in the books.
Stress respect for all varieties of people. Learn to voice that respect. We'll have stronger souls, fuller literacy -- and as that happens, less passivity.
CBS just reported that Trump has ordered military strikes on facilities in Caracas Venezuela. Film shows large numbers of helicopters flying overhead and explosions across the city. This was done without Congressional approval nor even notice. Trump has claimed he has done this to stop drugs from coming to the US, but it is obvious he wants to control the oil for his MAGAites
“From an international law perspective, Mearsheimer says Trump shows little regard for legal norms, citing threats and uses of force with no clear legal authority. Strategically, this behavior reinforces a global perception that U.S. diplomacy is unreliable, pushing states like Russia, Iran, China, and even partners like Ukraine to demand formal, legally binding guarantees rather than relying on U.S. assurances.”
Some say we live in an attention economy, since it is a finite resource that is required for political power. This is part of the truth.
We also live in a trustworthiness (& verification) economy. With the rise of AI slop, and non-stop personalized misinformation feeds, it will rapidly become impossible to know what is true. Verified trustworthiness will be the scarcest and most valuable resource of them all.
Prior to T, the globally most trusted nation could have been US. Perhaps never more.
So classically tragic. P successfully played T, ending US national security.
“the human race does as disastrously with the smartest people in the room as the village idiots”
-This is actually the best reason for a flat hierarchy (social) representative democracy.
But also, democracies only persist in the absence of >4-5x magnitudes of power inequality (ie ‘social’ democracies instead of laissez-faire capitalist societies).
US has moved steadily toward oligarchy (rule by the greediest and most entitled in the room) for more than 50 years.
But again, Democracy and billionaires cannot coexist in the same political power realm.
So one MUST squeeze the money out of ALL billionaires and multinationals if we want money out of politics - a precondition for a democracy serving people instead of a welfare state for the rich - our current state.
I’m still waiting to hear Schumer’s and Jeffrie’s endorsement of New York City’s mayor. Their quiet caution is telling. The future is not for the likes of them. Their train has left the station and they missed it.
This "waiting for party approval" is an inadvertent confession of where their true allegiances lay. It is with Wall Street and it ain't with us working folks.
Perhaps You share my first 'read' on that Gregg. For myself though, experience and hard earned humility begs me to 'pause' on any conclusions and watch for more 'tells.' We shall see.
The vision of ALL citizens being involved in their government - "an engaged citizenry" that does more than just vote but also helps develop and enact new policies - has appealed to me for many decades. For this reason, I joined an effort during the 2008 election called Organizing For America that then candidate Barack Obama promised would be part of his administration if he won. When that initiative got shut down by the Democratic National Committee shortly after he didi won, I learned a big lesson about political parties: They want to Remain In Control. They want our votes but otherwise want "we the people" to leave them alone to do what they want to do.
This is why learning that Zohran Mamdani created the new Mayor's Office of Mass Engagement today is so exciting to me. Because he is NOT part of the "political establishment," his vision of an engaged citizenry is really going to happen!
Here's where you can watch the announcement of this new office, which took place earlier today...
Steve, I spent 20 years as a paid liaison between local government and volunteer neighborhood boards and associations. Ultimately, citizens viewed us as being controlled by the city and they were correct. We were constantly given agendas to push and, while some grassroots agendas came to the surface and were implemented, as long as the paychecks and infrastructure funding came directly from city funding and priorities, the citizen voice were muted, manipulated or ignored. I wish them luck.
Thank you for sharing something of your experiences, Janet. I’m curious to know where you did this work.
My first experience engaging with citizens began in 1980, where a friend started NewYorkCitiWorks, which helped people do charity work that contributed to the civic health of NYC. In the early 1990s, I was part of a nationwide movement to bring Total Quality Management’s principles to how cities plan for their futures. Today, the Communities of Excellence movement is the best thought out initiative I know of (link below).
I get your point about how sources of funding can affect the vision and functioning of citizen engagement efforts. But like any organized effort, it’s the quality / character of the people in charge that matters … the leadership. Mayor Mamdani has a vision of “we are all in this together” … of a NYC that’s not controlled by those with the money. I am optimistic he will succeed.
And again, I’m curious to learn more about your experiences. Perhaps we can talk by zoom some time?
I started during Model Cities in the early 1970’s. Later, we had block grants with fairly strict funding categories for projects. Dayton, Ohio is where I spent 20 years playing tug of war between residents and government actors. One notable person who evidently built some party cred during my time was my current House rep Mike Turner. He was just passing through, rather like our current VP Vance.
Thank you for this additional background information. I applaud your commitment to better cities going back so many years.
Sometimes new ideas do not get adopted unless there is a crisis that causes people to look for new ways of behaving. I am optimistic that enough people know we need to Think Differently if we are going to get out of this crisis that people will finally change in ways necessary to make that happen.
As the youngest of six siblings by many years, I learned what to do and what NOT to do by watching and listening to my mother’s response to my siblings behavior. Being a good kid was quite simple, really - don’t do what made my mother swear and cry. The contrast between Mamdani and Trump is quite obvious, really. Which leader would make my mom swear and cry?
Trump simply doesn't comprehend that a cognitive test is administered to detect and evaluate dementia - his dementia. Nor does he understand that you cannot lower prices by 200% unless the company in question pays customers to take its products. He insults our intelligence by repeating such nonsense over and over, yet doesn't realize that with each repetition, he is making it crystal clear to us all that he's the only one who doesn't know his mental faculties, inadequate when in prime condition, are shot.
Okay, I read this late. Just about 15 minutes ago there was an interruption of regular programming to say that Caracas is being bombed. Is the military as corrupt as the administration? How can this be happening? Did all the generals who aren't somehow obligated to Trump resign? I am appalled, angry, and too damn old for this.
Why in Caracas: U.S. Delta Force action to capture Maduro and his wife. What next? Maybe Israel's Mossad will kidnap Trump. The Trump government certainly has no legal argument now against world chaos.
Contrasting Mamdani and Trump makes it clear how America lost its way. The concept of public integrity vanished. The sense of virtue in government, of acceptance of responsibility towards the body politic, and the ethical obligation to provide care to those in need among us disappeared.
I was reminded of this when I recently learned of the death of the most decent, principled man I ever knew, Pat Dobel, Corbally University Professor of Public Service at the University of Washington, author of a text on Public Leadership Ethics.
How we save our democracy cannot just be focused on legislation and court rulings. It can’t just be focused on kicking out the shallow, self-centered, ethically challenged politicians who have been elected. We have to restore a framework of leadership in our politics and government that embodies ethical standards and norms. We need to construct barriers to the all-too-easy downhill slide away from integrity.
Pat’s ideas are not something quaint, although I am sure many will think so. They respect our founder’s ideals while recognizing that real people will sometimes fail. But with practice, what it means to be an ethical leader for the public good becomes achievable.
The only way it will happen is if we all, as citizens, come to understand what we must expect from those we elect to lead us.
May it bring us more Mamdani's and fewer Trumps.
It is up to us to bring us more Mamdanis and fewer Trumps.
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Mamdani: " ... where excellence in no longer the exception", "resurrect the legacy" of the "gorgeous mosaic".
HCR: We heard "... a declaration of a new kind of modern politics that focuses on "freedom to" rather than "freedom from".
Yes, bring another human being a plate of food but, we can take actions that have a national impact even to take on problems with seemingly overwhelming complexity.
Taking my cue from Megan & Heather, yesterday, with some help from a Rhode Islander, I wrote to Senator Whitehouse (RI) & succinctly summarized how the Epstein Survivors can take control of the 5.2 million document database & create a searchable database. FRCP 53.
Create a new legacy.
“Freedom to” rather than “freedom from.” Reminds me of reframing chores as “I get to” rather than “I have to.” A psychological shift that can become a paradigm shift…
Yes, JD, Texans need a good dose of reality as to what the republicans have done to the state.
Amen
When it comes to chores I tell my grandkids, and myself, to do what you like the least, first. Get it out of the way. The rest is easy.
That works, gives me a running start
Bryan Sean McKown, if you wake to the news about Maduro, please write to your Senator, assuming he is Senator Whitehouse, to please speak
loudly and clearly. ICE had at least one Blackhawk in Chicago yesterday afternoon, so I assume we can expect any massive protests to be met with lethal force.
Virginia, ironic, isn't it? That the same man who is "rattling his sword" so loudly to "protect Iran's peaceful protesters against their totalitarian leaders" is the same man who cheerfully sets his ICE hounds against ordinary citizens in his own country.
Isn't Donnie the same man who whined that he wanted to "shoot them in the knees"? when there were peaceful protests?
Of course he does not see his hypocrisy. He is wholly outside of any laws that govern everyone else.
Well put, Janet Brook. The ironies we live with daily rattle my old brain. But then the “same man” is brain dead.
Trump may need to send Musk in to steal Iran's demographic files, so Trump will know who are the bad guys.
I am in California & I have to sharp Senators plus a politically adept Governor.
Thank you. Then you admire, as I do, the Senator from Rhode Island. Wanted him for president in 2016, the first time I « met » him on TV.
Still, yesterday was a pistol. But at its very root, what can any of us believe????
Several belated "likes" from people advised me in response to queries I had raised to be cautious of what I was watching on line because some were AI constructed.
I found myself bent out of shape trying to respond to yet another "Dem"'strident plea to "chip in" 25, 50, 75 dollars from an entity assuming I would just accept they were bona fide, authorized by the Party to solicit from my sons' inheritance despite its past failures to even acknowledge, save by silence, many attempts since the summer of '23 to engage with Dem leadership through carefully constructed advice and counsel on the many growing threats facing America's "democratic experiment?"
And before I turned in around ten I had been dismayed to belatedly realized that two George Conway 'posts' and one by HCR I'd just watched were almost certainly AI 'creations' . . .
This morning came the scattered 'reports' of 'actions' America seems to have taken against Maduro and Venezuela.
"WHAT TO BELIEVE . . .???" "HOW MUCH DOUBT AND UNCERTAINTY CAN A PEOPLE . . .I . . . BEAR???
If yesterday was a pistol, what lies ahead for each and all of us today???
Hendrik: "one " HCR post "were almost certainly AI 'Creations'"
Stop the FALSE republication of misinformation.
Stop it!
And our Representatives (mostly) are on top of it, too. No need to poke 'em 😉
Is that supposed to be a joke?
Agree. Enough of the same approach on everything including the Files. Someone also pointed out there are employment records on all the ICE agents. Why isn't someone looking into these people?
We are done with the constant delays while politicians hang out in plush offices enjoying the perks of a solid pension, platinum health benefits, etc.
Do stuff. Stop lying to us about how hard it is to get anything done.
Bryan you have created a powerful new slogan: "Create a new legacy."
Thank you Barbara. 🙏 A former client just sent me a link to easy-to- operate Podcast technology.
Speaking of which. Dr. Richardson is on her podcast today speaking about the Venezuela invasion. Warning. It is a sobering and frightening talk.
It is appalling that Trump's military has invaded another country and kidnapped the president and first lady. I have visited Venezuela and talked with ordinary people, who were wonderful. Unfortunately, like the United States, their government is corrupt and venal. I'm not at all a fan of Maduro, nor Chavez before him, invading another country is illegal -- like so much else that Trump has done. King Donnie gets away with it because there is no one to stop him.
Thank you Barbara!
How would they do that? You might also write to Rep Khanna and Sen Massie—or call, using Meghan’s spreadsheet—to tell them too.
MLMinET: Here is my 12/31/25 LFAA Post:
*****************************************
I am working on federal law answer to provide a court supervised, searchable, database for Survivors of the 5.2 Million Epstein documents uncovered so far.
See, FRCP Section 53:
"Where warranted by exceptional circumstances", "given the complexity of a huge database as well as getting search & retrieval methods & managing statutory identity & other data protection".
Then in 2026 appoint an independent, Special Master under continuing judicial control & a protective order (PTO) all for the benefit of the Survivors & their capable attorneys including BRITTANY HENDERSON & JENNIFER FREEMAN among others.
Accountability.
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I certainly hope that his words, promises, policies and philosophy will realize results of great and good.
Venezuela invaded and Maduro taken prisoner. But the Jeffery Epstein rape charges against Donald Trump will not end. And this destruction of a sovereign government, even if illegitimate, will not end the charges of rape.
Yes, our leaders may want the oil, but the taking of Maduro (a head of sovereign government) was definitely another distraction from the Epstein files release.
Distraction? Trump using the U.S. military to seize the head of a sovereign state is a call to war. Impeachment now!!! What does Trump do next? Nuke China?
My exact [terrified and furious] thoughts.
No not China. But don’t forget the military did protect the nuke codes during his first time in office but these safeguards are no longer in place.
Well... these people in trump's cabinet are insufferable idiots. Give them a little power and they're all tyrants, with no sense of propriety or principles, under the control of violent passions. We'll be treading on land mines into the foreseeable future....
Maduro & his spouse are not "on their way to New York". They are being interrogated off the VZ shore on the USS Iwo Jima.
The most frightening thing to me is the apparent fact that the Military "Leaders" are ok with following orders that they should know are illegal, and involving our troops in egregious breaches of International Laws, never mind UN Dictates or Constitutional Provisions that Congress must be consulted and give approval.
If the Military leaders remaining (after Trump's purge of any Officers who would not bend to his evil will) are willing to carry out this kind of action, they will certainly be willing to aim their forces against their fellow citizens.
Richard, this is the news my husband greeted me with this am. I am aghast. This certainly opens the door to all sorts of bad things. I am just up and have not read the news stories about this yet. This means essentially that the military can grab any foreign leader. I was hoping to get in at least a few deep breaths to start the new year, but I guess not.
Me too Michele. I'm a night owl & a "true crime" buff...so had just tuned into an episode of Dateline...left the room at the first commercial break & returned to find Dateline pre-empted by videos of our launching missiles at Venezuela. I tried to wake my husband, who appeared to think I was imagining things & rolled over... I dozed off & quasi-woke to the news that we'd "captured" Maduro & his wife...then I thought I was imagining things! NOT. Later watched Trump announce that Rubio & Hesgeth will be "running" Venezuela. I'll never understand why ppl enjoy "fictional crime stories," when the real thing is far more compelling...and crazy.
BTW, speaking of being half-awake...did you notice Trump literally falling asleep on his feet while his military guy (whoever) was at the podium providing an account of our assault?
As always, the question is: “What will it take for the House and Senate to take back their authority to govern as a separate branch of government?”
You are correct, John. What will it take? Answer: an election.
Also demand Courts Marshall for all those in the military who obeyed what they know to be a totally illegal order.
Bill Katz,
Our Republican leadership is all in to take over vulnerable countries such as Venezuela for their oil. Maduro may have his character flaws but Trump is a born thug being protected by his office as President of the USA. His family members are also gaining their share of power and influence. No matter how much soap they use nor how well they dress.....they cannot clean up nor disguise their obvious rot and corruption....wherever they go...what or whomever they touch....becomes the same.
No matter how well dressed and cleaned up or wealthy Trump's "Leadership" appears, they are not for the citizens of the USA but followers...using this opportunity to line their own pockets!
We as citizens of the USA are watching this happen daily even if we have our eyes 1/2 open!
It is the few, it is the brave ones...facing these giants from hell....who are increasingly rising up to save our country and the freedoms our true heroes have fought for since our beginnings as a nation. I thank God for each of you and I long to see more overwhelming peaceful gatherings of which I have been apart of in the past months and will continue to stand or sit as I am able.
Emily I know but thank you for expressing it. Now I think I want to take in a homeless Venezuelan kitty cat.
The builder of faux empires has struck in Venezuela. Will we soon see Trump resorts on the beaches in Venezuela? Are we now officially a banana Republic?
now officially a terrorist state
Yes.
No more wars! Oh never mind…
The government of this country has joined the axis of evil. Resistance is the only option.
Time to remember 1997 film Wag the Dog.
A fake war hits the news to distract from a politician’s sex scandals.
Trump understands the media is much like Eugene McCarthy said , “like blackbirds on a wire”.
This is all about drowning out the Epstein story.
Disagree. The epstein story distracting us is all about distracting us from what is actually happening
Distraction! The public was paying too much attention to the Epstein debacle, so it must be time to create something that will gain media and public attention. Never mind the illegality of invasion and kidnapping.
No more wars! Oh never mind…
The government of this country has joined the axis of evil. Resistance is the only option.
I don’t disagree in principle but the term socialism is a dirty word in our body politics and ultimately ends in defeat and this is what will happen here. Don’t you get it. Stop with the dreamy ideals. We are heading for ultimate collapse if you think we will be electing socialist presidents. That’s just the way it is. I would prefer it wasn’t but it is. The handwriting has been scrawled on walls for decades now.
Socialism is not a dirty word. It is misused by people who want to imply, or say outright, care for one another, especially the vulnerable, is socialism.
What we need to do is make sure people know what socialism IS.
Well said. I am against children being forced to go hungry, youngsters being denied the medical treatment they need, young women bleeding out in their cars in hospital parking lots, old people who struggle without assistance and those who are homeless living on the streets and being arrested for it. If that makes me a "socialist", so be it.
It is called social justice. If these so called Christians in this regime were truly followers of Christ they would know that was his message.
What people don't realize is that our schools and libraries are funded by governments - a form of socialism - and that's a good thing.
Not to mention Community Hospitals, Social Security and Medicare. All of which Republicans want to make go away. Next they'll want to put toll booths on the streets and highways and send invoices for police and fire calls.
I think that it is the semantics that's the problem. Our schools and libraries are also a product of pragmatic capitalism. What we need to do is defeat oligarchy, monopolistic capitalism, which is a form of feudalism economics.
Thank you for elucidating. That's why I like this forum - there's always more to learn..
There is a difference between a social democracy and democratic socialism. That, in my opinion, and as a dual citizen Canadian/American, is what my fellow Americans need to learn.
To me it's ironic that this group is talking about socialism and whether it is "good" or "bad". Like republicans that only bitch about the national debt when democrats are in office but it's not socialism to bail out farmers after republicans destroyed the economy? Or, is that just flat out hypocrisy?
Now THAT might be impossible after all the negative programing that's been done for many decades...
Just as many have not responded negatively to the harm many of Trump's policies have done their families, I believe these same will react negatively to positive changes made by a socialist regime...
Each generation gets to start over. Kids don't just take their elders word for it. "Because I said" so is a challenge not the end to a discussion.
yeah...i think we grew up in different environments, T. and if this is true in your immediate one, i'm happy for you...but, from my experience(s), you seem to be talking about the exceptional cases...otherwise there wouldn't have been(at LEAST) a vietnam or iraq war...no maga teeners/20 yos...we, as a SPEcies, have had chances every DAY to 'start over'...and look where we are now. destroying the planet we, AND every other life form, live on...but i'd love to see what you said being taken advantage of by MUCH larger numbers...
i forgot this one, T...is there still racism against blacks since the civil war?
or many decades beFORE? man...what an oversight that was on my part...i wish they had an edit function with comments...
Socialism IS a dirty word to a majority of Americans. Social Democracy is not. Social Democracy supports capitalism with guardrails. Socialists believe capitalism inherently creates inequality and should be replaced with a more democratic and cooperative economy. Does anyone really believe our country is capable and willing to re-design our entire economy?
ML, it is true that socialism is not a dirty word and that people do not understand it. However, it is right now political death here in Oregon because no one can win a state wide election calling themselves a socialist and they can't win most local elections either. That is the reality and it matters how people perceive it.
Yes. It’s important to dumb it down and make it easy for the general population. This is all I meant.
Medicare and Social Security are definitely socialism; once people understand that, you can move to a higher level of understanding and cooperation.
Medicare and Social Security are features of a social safety net. They are NOT socialism. Socialism is a form of government. We need a well regulated market economy with a social safety net to provide services that a market economy will not. Look at Sweden. "Sweden operates a market-based economy with extensive welfare state protections; it is not a socialist economy. The system is best described as a social market or social democratic model that blends free-market capitalism with robust public services and redistribution."
I agree. Even FDar didn’t portray himself as a socialist president.
Bill, I’m not a socialist, but interracial marriage/miscegenation and gay marriage were once dirty words, too, and then almost suddenly, they weren’t.
Alan Peterson,
Hopefully, we are facing reality and realizing that the individual choices persons make about their personal lives is a form of freedom which is an ideal most of us want for ourselves.
Laws and perimeters remain important.
You're talking about inherent civil rights. That's a bit different than re-designing our whole economy.
Brian, I agree, but i’m sure you know that our whole economy has been re-designed during certain times in the past. For example, the change from “Robber Baron,” extreme capitalism in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to FDR’s liberal New Deal starting in the 1930s and lasting until Carter’s presidency in the 1970s.
Then came the change that victimizes and abuses the American people to this day. Namely, the change from liberal government to Republican, extreme, free- market capitalism or Neoliberalism starting with Reagan’s presidency and extending right up to our current days in MAGA America.
Social mores have changed, evolved since Boomers were children. Socialism though is not a human right as are the other things you mention.
T_Allen, I agree. As I said, I'm not a socialist. I favor well-regulated capitalism and am a social Democrat on the model of some western European and Scandinavian countries. I wasn't trying to claim socialism is a human right. It seemed to me Bill Katz was a bit too dogmatic and certain about socialism being anathema, forever, to all of humanity. I don't think that's true and I was merely giving examples of other things that were thought to be anathema and then weren't.
Yes, I understand what you were saying, I was just attempting to clarify for people that would clump them together. I think the bloom is off the turd that Capitalism has become. Americans are practical people so when they decide Capitalism really doesn't work they will move on. Meantime people like Mamdani and Bernie and countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark will lead the way. Not that other countries can't create their own forms of enlightened government but so far none have done as well. Man's greed is the ultimate Achilles heel for any organization particularly governments. So far the species doesn't appear to have found a cure for it.
Wat? Where would I be without interracial relationships. you don’t say. listen up, don’t lump it all together. The most familiar taste of the democrat is eating his self.
Being commanded to "listen up," I did so. To repeat, I'm not a socialist and I think you are too dogmatic about socialism being anathema, forever, to the whole American part of humanity. I don't think that's true and I was merely giving examples of other things that we Americans thought to be anathema and then weren't. I think Americans are even liable to change their minds about socialism, especially if the irrational, alarmist, mendacious propaganda spread about it by conservatives for so many decades can be overcome. I don't mean Americans will necessarily adopt socialism, just that we will come to see it as one form of government just as free-market capitalism, state capitalism, and social democratic systems are.
But we have already practiced forms os socialism; taxes, education, social security and so on. I feel that we should apply the old Madison Avenue packaging approach to selling concepts not unlike our retardant conservatives do. They call things like free market capitalism and it sounds great. It’s freedom. De-regulation sounds fantastic right? I think we should approach concepts and match them to easy selling words. I know someone who remains a republican but hates Trump; he is a Connecticut Republican. But he still uses the word socialism because it’s cemented in his calcified brain.
Predictable that you'd say "socialism bad", Bill, But we all thought "Naziism bad" since the 1940s, yet here we are, with some in the Cabinet. If they can polish that turd, surely we can remind voters what a Democratic Socialist stands for: which in fact is what a majority of Americans stand for.
Correction: A majority of Americans stand for a social democracy, NOT democratic socialism.
Both are actually capitalism.
I disagree. The government or collective, as opposed to private interests, controls the means of production.
Bill, you're showing your age when you say "socialism is a dirty word". To anyone under 50 its more a question. Boomers grew up with "the bomb" and fallout shelters in their back yards. That's kind of like telling Alphas, Zoomers and Millenials how we used to listen to radio and there was no TV. They're not going to just take Boomers word for it.
Considering people of all ages don't understand the difference between socialism and social democracy, that's quite a statement. Oh and drop the "boomer" crap. That's bigotry.
When I do stand up, I announce that I’m from the boomer generation the peace and love generation. But now I hate everyone.
Lol. I’m only 105 years young. Why do you say that?
Tonight at open mic at my stand-up, I shall open with, “I’m tired of seeing so many people my age that look so God Damn old it makes me sick. I’m a boomer from the Peace and Love generation but I hate everybody including my grandparents who should have stayed in Europe and that way I would be European.”
How many took Trump seriously as a presidential candidate?
Far too few.
and far too late...
Icks I did.
I agree 100% - in our body politic, socialism is a dirty word., almost the equivalent of communism. There is a much better and more accurate term to describe what Bernie and Momdani are: PRAGMATIC CAPITALISTS. The wealth of a nation is not created by just a few, but by the body politic as a whole. This is why, in large part, I like Frances Perkins' theory of government: "The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." There is no separating the economy from the government in the Industrial Age.
Remember Truman's quote?
Yup.
No Bill, it is taking actions to help and protect citizens that will redefine the word “socialist” so all can see leaders who walk the talk.
Cripes. Socialism. What do you think the corporate subsidies and farmer bailouts are?
The process is a bit more involved because states have differing regs for doing so. Here's the skinny: Voting from Abroad | Travel.State.gov https://share.google/Uyzw5BtSARZj92yxw
It's also up to us to clean out all the Schumers, Schiffs and all the other PAC owned Democrats who allowed this nightmare to happen. They, more than us, had knowledge of this building in back rooms, the Supreme Court and in legislation being passed. They allowed MAGA to gain a foothold all through the political system from school boards to State Houses, State Supreme Courts and all through Government. They talked about Democracy (a lovely but vague word) while the Republicans lied on every single kitchen table issue. The phenomenal Biden hid from the media and never explained himself to the American voter. And on and on and on...
You got it wrong. We the voters chose twice a clown and a cruel narsiccist from the debates and also a most open corrupt and immoral person. The billionaires are laughing at us.
Hmmm, aren't they the ones who actually got stuff done during the first two years of the last administration and put the economy on the right track?
They failed to:
Address the rise of Christian Nationalism, the growing power of the Heritage Foundation within the Republican party, the increasingly widespread corrupt media, the significant impact of gerrymandering and voter suppression, the left behind middle class, the threat to Roe v Wade, the effects of Russia propaganda on social media and on and on and on. While what I have mentioned was occurring Democrats were playing the "gentlemen rules." The Republicans were using every means available to gain the kind of power they have.
Add in the lazy, uninformed voter, the elimination of Civics in schools, the entrenchment of career politicians and what we have is a severe threat to what is left of our Democracy and the Constitution.
This was a long time coming.
To this day I will never forget Biden welcoming a rapist and felon into our Oval Office after the 2024 election saying "Welcome home." A powerful example of playing by the rules in the 1950's instead of today.
They certainly did "address" the things you list here. This has nothing to do with the people you mention. It's about, as you say, the lazy, uninformed voter who has succumbed to the power of right-wing media and social media.
When did the Democratic Party take on the Heritage Foundation? When did the Democratic Party expose the Heritage Foundation as the authors of Project 2025?
When did the Democratic Party elite take legislative action to deal with Russian propaganda in our legacy media and social media?
Tell me concrete actions the Democratic Party took over the past 40 years to forestall any of the things I mentioned. Just saying "They certainly did" doesn't prove anything
I signed up to phone bank in April and October. We need to start working right now for the election.
That's great Barbara. Thanks for joining in this big GOTV year.
This part-time expat appreciates the reminder. I might miss a few local elections, but I make sure I do what I can to weigh in on state and national ballots.
Great Skepticat. I recommend checking off the Plan to Return box too, a ridiculous question anyway, and get the full ballot.
I think we need more serious, competent grown-ups. I'm thinking Abigail Spanberger, Micki Scherer, Roy Cooper (among others). And yes, to all US citizens lucky enough to be living abroad during these insane times: PLEASE VOTE! Thank you Linda!
Thanks monimaca!
We are up against it, people. Be sure your voter registration is valid, and not purged or removed from the voters rolls. Citizens, especially those in 'red states', must contact their reps to stop the placement of election deniers in positions of authority where elections are concerned. We must protect the integrity of our elections and their outcomes. A massive turnout and win will help prevent the rejection of legitimate outcomes. Everyone must be on board this year.
Thanks for your service Linda...👏
For the record...
Believing that voting is usually rigged, I rarely voted...
Having seen what America was becoming, I moved away a quarter of a century ago...
But when Trump was running for a second time, I registered from here, got a letter validating my application and saying that I'd receive a ballot.
That never happened...
And I will not be responding to any responses to this post...
Seems like you let the rest of us down Issac. Voting really isn't all about you.
T...someday you might understand that every individual makes choices that makes them the center of those choices...and, of course, not all well intentioned choices go the way the person choosing might want them to...
in any case, you seem to have taken parts of what i wrote and misrepresented them to suit your agenda...whatever that might be...i'll let you figure it out...
voting, T, is the voice of the individual...
"'And I will not be responding to any responses to this post..." Perhaps we should pay the same kind of attention to what else you had to say??? /s
Oops! "And I will not be responding to any responses to this post..."
that was a personal choice, barbara...to override my previous decision when i felt i had cause to...i, obviously, didn't point out the cowardice behind someone like Hendrik's comment...including the 'we' bit...cowards usually like the security of a gang...witness your administration...got it all sewed up... Trump lies and the rest of the executive branches swear to it...and thanks. i was waiting for a response such as yours...that whole 'not responding to responses' was bait...
I wholly concur with Barbara in thanking you for your post, and expressing my condolences to you upon the loss of Prof. Dobel. I have seen and admired your posts here over the recent years, yet have never felt the emotional punch you packed until tonight, when speaking of this man.
Let's keep on keeping on, as your friend would surely have wanted.
Is not wisdom recognizing what most matters as well as what is most likely to be true? How do we choose where to put our energy? Which plan to follow; from whether to read this webpage to whether or not to marry, and to whom? Who to give help and who gets your vote. Nominal Republicans claim that they have the "Values Voters", but every living soul has values, and what matters is where they lead. Democrats have a lot of good idea and recognize our individual differences, but it seems to me we have not been talking about the crucial issues of honesty and integrity nearly enough. Like human disease, political corruption is never ended for good, but damn if it hasn't spread to a crisis level under all of our watch.
And I question whether any president should use social media to communicate with the nation. It's mirrored this one's decline, but a president who was busy doing the job would not have time for such vindictiveness. And one assumes that he has a little help from the "staff."
This. Barely noticed in all the idiocy is the fact that our demented, cankled fruitcake in the White House is fundamentally violating the very concept of 'faithfully executing the laws' by posting idiocies on something called "social media." WTF is that? Social media isn't a constitutional thing -- it's a private indulgence. Add to the fact, he posts something like 200 times in a night.
A government, not simply a president, lost in complete sundowning behavior isn't long for this world. Take heart.
He once ridiculed the 400-lb guy sitting in his parents’ basement … he has become the caricature he mocked. The overweight, sundowning (as you note), stubborn/smarter than his doctors, catered to, bigoted, raging grandpa using social media to scream his deterioration for everyone to read.
Flash.
Venezuela
Trump says Maduro captured, flown out of Venezuela after U.S. strikes shake Caracas
By Antonio María Delgado
The United States carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela’s socialist regime early Saturday morning, bombing several military and key government installations and capturing strongman Nicolás Maduro, who was flown out of the country along with his wife, President Donald Trump announced on social media.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article314136973.html#campaignName=miami_breaking_newsletter
Un-fucking-believable. This is why we have a "war" department and no longer a Department of Defense. I am still in shock. I have repeatedly encouraged caution in our attacks on Trump because I think it could be counterproductive to overstate the case, but if this is true, he clearly becomes a criminal leader of our nation. He has no basis or authority to attack a sovereign nation and seize their President. We are entering into a very VERY dark and uncharted territory here.
He has made the US into a country of murderers and thieves (he wants their oil). What a horrid reputation we now have to bear...
This is deja vu. Panama.
Manuel Noriega (Dictator) (Tried 1991-1992)
Charges: Drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering.
Outcome: Convicted and sentenced to 40 years (later reduced).
Significance: Landmark trial as the first time a former foreign head of state faced U.S. criminal charges.
Ricardo Martinelli (President 2009-2014) (Arrested 2017, Extradited 2018)
Charges: Embezzlement and illegal wiretapping of political opponents.
Location: Arrested in Miami, fought extradition, and was sent back to Panama.
Significance: Demonstrated U.S. cooperation in honoring extradition treaties for former leaders.
So no Nobel Peace Prize this year either? Oh dear, oh dear.
Perhaps the "Orwell Prize"?
yep: we are now acting like Putin in Ukraine. Who's next? Greenland? Canada?
NO, not "white" Canada or "white" Greenland. That would be a bridge to far.
Why doesn't he go after Saudi Arabia, they have lots of oil too.
Doesn't this kind of give Iran permission to come after Trump for all that bombing last year. Reap what you sow?
It appears obvious on the face of it that a lifelong felon and scoff-law would faithfully do anything other than indulge his basest impulses, which is indeed what we see today. The demented cretin knows nothing else.
In Jack Smith’s testimony, which I read the other day, the Rs (specifically Gym Jordan) were worried about three things, one of which was how unreasonable it was to have expected Trump to show up in court in FL on a day he had ‘off’ from the other cases in NY. Jordan never saw the irony of his felon having so many cases against him he couldn’t appear at them all without stepping on himself.
I think I am going to gift myself with the time to read that testimony today. I watched some of it, and boy, howdy!
Thank you. FDR: speeches of encouragement while standing with braces. DJT: babbling demented disparagement from his bedroom on his phone - like an angry abused kid.
You nailed it. Trump is exactly that. We have Ma & Pa to thank for him. Dysfunction has a very long half-life.
Indeed.
Well said, J L. What have we permitted by focusing on the recipe and failing to notice that the bread is burnt?
It seems that trump embraces socialism in that he has been requiring companies to give partial ownership to the federal government.
I have never heard of any of the current politicians who describe themselves as Democratic Socialists calling for the government to take over all private businesses as the right wing would have you believe.
The political and economic elite, who have always enjoyed the overwhelming amount of power in the United States, will fight every politician or organization that wants to make the country a more democratic one.
I believe that is the reason the right wing has been opposed to education at least since the Reagan administration.
That is what is behind all book bans; they use religion to influence the weak-minded who are unreasonably bothered by alternative lifestyles, but they also ban books that contain political subject matter they would not like the majority of citizens to be aware of.
We are entering into a new paradigm of how people make a living with AI soon replacing most white collar desk jobs. And as the massive data centers come online, more of those jobs will be taken; AGI is not necessary for this takeover to occur. The elite do not care what will happen to these displaced workers and their families, and are salivating at the money they will save by eliminating those positions. The tech exists today to cause significant economic strife for Americans.
Well said, JL Graham. I hope this Mamdani line, as reported by HCR, sells in NYC:
Rather than using “the good grammar of civility…to mask agendas of cruelty,” he said, they would “replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”
Unfortunately, it probably wouldn’t sell in Kansas, nor probably any other state, even California and possibly not even if Mamdani’s governance in NYC is wildly successful, which I think is at least possible and that I very much hope will come to pass.
Thanks, Georgia, for the reference to Mr. Dobel & I plan to find out more about the text he authored.
https://www.amazon.com/Public-Leadership-Ethics-Management-Approach-ebook/dp/B07D1915FT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BVOMMD9PGCAN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.otmWFizy0Q8s8Ebg-6qqYKY801InqWiHV9hd5mgT6dfhkOpxWyDzIvG6Vchk72OjQGTTmFeisfGDv6UOfg0ZnEsLmLzr81uMsG4AZoqNmMK7489oMSX-Sp0e50X3bevDRQm1HjZXo99ag3xXcZjINA.ys14-D6EYbUKU5DAnhXtY85mv75iKC7nEpsY9tLZVMI&dib_tag=se&keywords=j.+patrick+dobel&qid=1767425301&s=books&sprefix=%2Cstripbooks%2C294&sr=1-1
sorry its from Amazon--but it will get you the deets.
And once you know, you can order it from your local bookstore and also ask your local library to buy a copy if they don't currently have one.
Thanks!
buy it from the publisher:
https://www.routledge.com/Public-Leadership-Ethics-A-Management-Approach/Dobel/p/book/9781351049344?_ga=396312026.1767446178&_gl=1*wa9xb9*_gcl_au*MTk1OTE3OTY1Ni4xNzY3NDQ2MTc2*_ga*Mzk2MzEyMDI2LjE3Njc0NDYxNzg.*_ga_0HYE8YG0M6*czE3Njc0NDYxNzckbzEkZzEkdDE3Njc0NDYyNTgkajYwJGwwJGgw
Thanks for posting that
Yes! Thank you!!
Just read about a new monthly infusion drug called Kisunla, to treat early Alzheimer’s/Dementia. Quite a few neurological effects are possible. Adverse side effect surveillance includes Brain MRI scans and cognitive tests.
That sounds interesting. Do you have a link?
One way the integrity of public service has been eroded is through the financialization of everything. A system where money is regarded as speech breeds elected officials who are bought and paid for by whatever interest puts up the most cash. This lowers the quality of people willing to serve and the quality of their work. At its base, is a whats-in-it-for-me ethos with no sense of public service.
Humans, on the other hand, are profoundly cooperative creatures who, at our cores, crave trust, honesty, and truth. None of the greatest, most lasting human endeavors are built on individualism. We respect it, because we need each other to achieve and grow. I am unfamiliar with Professor Dobel's work. Thanks for introducing him to us.
I agree.. Legislation to neuter Citizens United has to be a priority. It is a perversion of democracy.
In light of the almost certainly illegal attack tonight on Venezuela and seizure of their President and first lady, Citizens United may quickly become the LEAST of our problems.
There is no integrity, no responsibility, no decency, no respect for law in this administration. 0% across the board.
This may be the one time I wish I could do Trump math to express what it feels like to be sucked down into a black hole of evil, corruption, and visciousness.
Citizens United will never become the least of our problems, no matter what. It is at the core of the dismantling of any sort of democracy. We live in a Corporatocracy, now....
Jon.., interesting to have clicked onto Aljazeera news earlier. We have just bombed the streets of a civilized country whose citizens have no idea of what our problem is. Surely they will understand that we are a Christian Nation. I didn't get that impression though.
Key.
If I might add to the good point you’ve made,
Public service operational practices that resemble, those of private sector companies, have also had a perverse effect on outcomes.
When success is measured only in dollars and cents.. either saved, or thrown, at ,a particular problem.
Mike, if I may be candid, your point is well taken if not well expressed.
The notion that government should be run like a business is about as wrong-headed as any idea ever proposed. That fallacy gave us Donald Trump.
The fundamental difference between government and business is the former is a not-for-profit enterprise while the latter is solely for profit.
The purpose of tax revenues is to fund services to the public stakeholders who paid the taxes; every nickel should be spent without any surplus left over. The purpose of business revenues is to take money from the many (customers) and increase the wealth of the few (owners or shareholders).
Donald Trump, a failed, incompetent businessman – with the approval of far too many ignorant Americans – is trying to run the government like a business.
I’m sorry I didn’t express it well.. thank gawd a smart guy like you, turned up , I’m sure you know more than I would, ever know, about,.. I dunno.. being a heavy equipment operator and pipe layer in municipal water and waste water, because people like me are too stupid to understand that big picture..keep talking down ..makes you sound smart.. tell me some more Smart Guy..
Georgia, thank you for this forward thinking post! THESE are the discussions that need to take place to answer the question, “Where do we go from here?” What’s the plan as we move through 2026 and beyond the midterm elections? How do we rebuild, redesign, and re-establish these United States 🇺🇸 as a nation that represents the intentions of our Founders combined with the great needs, values, and protections that have been stripped away by this regime?
Beautifully said. It’s like we have to rebuild a moral and ethical infrastructure from scratch before we can begin to integrate the values, policies and legislation we need to craft a just society.
Yes, Georgia! Where is our outline for our “We the People Initiative-United for Democracy?”
Though I hate to refer to it,
this regime is built on their “Mandate for Leadership” and P2025…
“Project 2025 was primarily created and spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, as a comprehensive governing blueprint for the next conservative presidential administration. The initiative was launched in early 2022, and its core policy document was published in April 2023, the culmination of over a year of work.”
The ACLU explains the creation and implementation of Project 2025:
https://www.aclu.org/project-2025-explained
We the People need to roll up our sleeves and continue to work on a comprehensive platform. Who’s taking the lead on this?
There is an updated set of heritage priorities for 2026 complete with model legislation for the state to meet each of their objectives. It is very scary reading.
https://www.heritage.org/priorities
Kari, your question is important, and unfortunately, probably will not be answered.
During my lifetime (call me "Mid-Century Modern"), the Republican Party has appealed to business executives and other "management types," while the Democratic Party has appealed to the working class.
In the 1960s, Republicans added conservative religious types to their coalition, people who are willing to wait a lifetime for their "heavenly rewards."
What does this mean in terms of group psychology?
Republicans have the executive skills – and patience – to develop a long-term strategic plan and then carefully put all the personnel and policies in place to achieve the goals of that plan, such as Project 2025.
By contrast, Democrats, one-day-at-a-time, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants folks aren't proactive, but rather, reactive. They wake up, eat breakfast, clock in, see what unfolds each day, then decide how to respond. Our only hope is that a small group of activists might devise a strategy and capture the imagination and work ethic of Democrats. Odds are against that happening, but it could happen.
I’m wondering if that’s what it looks like in the surface. Where is the Democratic Party leadership? In their absence, where are our future “Re-Founders?” Where are brilliant minds like the Obamas, Whitmer, Jeffries, Heather CR, Reich, let’s add to the list! We need a think tank and a plan.
HCR mentions Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and the person responsible for our having Social Security. Perkins' theory of government: "The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." I consider the New Deal economy to be an expression of Pragmatic Capitalism.
Comparing MAGA to the KKK, or equating the two, read Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland" about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's. It was defeated then and we can do it now, though it wasn't "killed" then, but went dormant.
Right on. And fewer Regans. Let us emphasize integrity, ethical leadership, compassion and empathy. Toss in some humor.
And fewer PAC owned Democrats. We need to clean house on both sides of the aisle.
Important point, Barbara. I read last night that the tech bros are starting to support Democrats, wanting influence in that party. There will be Democrats who want that money.
Much as I’d like to see the House turn Dem and even if they pour money into Dems, I support getting rid of Citizens United. All that does is capture our preferred side and turn them into bought-and-paid for Republicans.
AI is the oligarchs dream. It is their best means of complete takeover of this Democracy. The lobotomization of the American brain will escalate even more, our environment reduced to deserts and our health impacted by the god-awful data centers no one wants. Meanwhile the Democrats are more than happy to get on board. More and more I see no difference between an old school Republican and the Democrats today.
''The Two Inaugurations of January 1: One With a Quran, One With a Cognitive Test''
Just after midnight on January 1, something quietly remarkable happened in New York City. In a shuttered subway station, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor on a historic Quran. It was solemn, symbolic, and faintly subversive, like New York itself when it remembers who it is. A few hours later, Bernie Sanders administered a second, public oath on the steps of City Hall. There were speeches about dignity, collectivism, halal carts, aching knees, and strangers lifting strollers up subway stairs. It was earnest. It was civic. It was almost suspiciously adult.
Meanwhile, several hundred miles south, the President of the United States was also being sworn in. Not to an oath, exactly, but to a recurring online certification of PERFECT HEALTH, delivered entirely in capital letters. This affirmation came with supporting documentation from a cognitive exam he keeps retaking like a man refreshing a CAPTCHA until the internet finally believes he is human.
On one end of the country, a 34-year-old mayor spoke about restoring faith in government by serving the people who keep the city running. On the other hand, a 79-year-old president reassured the nation that his genetics remain elite, despite a documented diet of hamburgers, french fries, and whatever remains in the White House vending machine after midnight...
https://essayx.substack.com/p/the-two-inaugurations-of-january
Contrasting Mamdani and Trump? I guess if Mamdani did nothing he would be 100% better than Trump. But that is not being a leader. From what I hear NYC does not have lots of money. Big plans and no money don’t mix well. They write songs about that. Part of what I am saying is it is way to early to attempt contrasting Mamdani with anyone other than other big talking candidates seeking to get their face on national TV with long winded speeches. Missouri has an outstanding motto, the "Show Me State." There should be skepticism for anyone within a two party system to brand themself as a member of the “Democratic Socialists of America.” To me it’s like being at a ball game with only two teams on the field and then come the Streakers to get some attention. Like someone scanning the sidelines for fringe money (attention). Bernard Sanders, now there is a real con man who also goes by that Democratic Socialist band. He, together with Comey and Putin put Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court. I will never forgive him for that either. He dared to say Hillary Clinton, the most qualified candidate in the history of the United States, was "not qualified" to be president. He dared to not concede his loss to Hillary for approximately five weeks demanding he have a say in the party platform. WTF? Those two actions turned-off some voters who stayed home and... Moreover, Mamdani, same as Sanders, ran for higher office as a “Democrat.” His winning IMO is a fluke based in desperation of Trump being the worst President in history thus staining the brand “Republican” plus a bad second choice in Cuomo. The problem we face now is how many Streakers are eyeballing Mamdani's win and will screw-up the chances of real Democrats by running in 2026 and 2028 as Democratic Socialist or maybe wearing the name Democrat in order to get a little attention (money)? It is a problem because in other regions full of swing voters they do not think the way New Yorkers do and may not like any too much that “Socialist... brand. IMO, vote lock step for true Democrats.
“I'll talk about plans now baby, I got plenty
Nothing ever seems to turn out the way it should
Talk about money, girl, I ain't got any”
“Thank The Lord For The Night Time” Neil Diamond 1967. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1T0g8ikhww
Also, Brother Ray, The High Priest of Soul, "Busted," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rpsRwPIbFA
It was a ranked-choice vote with 5 candidates i the race. The "streakers" are less likely to win because they will get knocked out in the first round and their votes will be distributed to their second choice candidate. I am a fan of ranked-choice voting. because it would not have led to Democratic defeats if 3rd party candidates had not been spoilers.
I don't see him as a streaker.
Mamdani was a New York Assemblyman for 4 years for District 36 from 2021 to 2025. before he ran for mayor.
Mamdani was first elected to the New York Assembly in 2020. He defeated ten-year incumbent Aravella Simotas 51.2% to 48.6% in the Democratic primary and was uncontested in the general election.[3] According to Time Magazine, Mamdani's main focuses as a state legislator were housing and transportation reform.[4]
Zohran Mamdani served as New York State Assemblymember A Democratic Socialist, his record reflects progressive priorities on housing, criminal justice, and labor issues.
Mamdani consistently voted with the Democratic majority on fiscal and budget measures, including passage of bills like S 3967 (138-0), S 6360 (139-2), and S 8344 (110-31) in June 2025.
He supported reforms such as A 136 (81-67 on cannabis or housing-related) and S 804 (142-3), aligning with his platform on affordability and equity. Notable oppositions include votes against certain budget implementations, as seen in his video explanations on the Assembly site.
Legislative Focus Areas
Housing and Affordability: Advocated for tenant protections and public housing, stemming from his background as a foreclosure counselor; supported eviction moratorium extensions.
Criminal Justice: Backed the HALT Solitary Confinement Act and police/prison reforms.
Economic and Labor: Voted for marihuana regulation (A 9232, 124-22) and utility ownership bills like S 9679 (103-38).
Environmental and Social: Pushed for enhanced public participation in rulemaking and against executive overreach.
His votes emphasized socialist policies, with near-unanimous support in uncontested reelections (98%+ in 2020, 2022, 2024). For full details, Vote Smart lists over 20 key votes from 2024-2025.
The above was a Perplexity AI summary because I'm tired but It is easy to get detailed info on a candidate's voting records on Balletopedia.
After you do that you can decide for yourself if he was a "streaker." even bt Missouri standards.
Georgia, this is a great statement of position for an Assembly candidate in New York State which is a highly politically bifurcated state with a heavy concentration of progressive voters in New York City (Mamdani's district). And it coincides with the same outlook for the City which has always been relatively progressive, even with GOP candidates like Mayor John Lindsay who beat the rule of the GOP party in New York City by running on the Liberal ticket.
But it doesn't bode well for anyone seeking wider office. As it turns out Mamdani isn't eligible for President because he is not a native-born citizen of the United States. I am not even sure he would be successful running for governor of New York against Kathy Hochul. Again, we shall see how this all turns out, but I think we are getting ahead of ourselves to see Mamdani's victory (which I highly applaud and would personally support) as some kind of bellweather for the Democrats, especially nationally.
He is VERY young. He has lots of time to mature and prove his worth or not. But New Yorkers have often taken risks with Mayors. Some were stellar, many others not so much. He has 4 years to build a track record and Republicans/MAGA will be gunning for him for 3 of them. Time will tell.
It’s premature to be talking about Mamdani potentially running for higher office when he was just inaugurated as mayor. Who knows what his future aspirations are - right now, he is focused on running the City of New York.
Ellen,
I agree with your comment about Mamdani whom I find refreshing. Let's let him go to work!
When Democrats lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger in California I was a little happy to know that he was not a natural born citizen. Unfortunately many voters equate being a fan of a celebrity with endorsing a political candidate. Consider Reagan, Sonny Bono and reality TV Star Trump. I may catch hell for this but IMO Democrats should be more organized and support only young candidates for lower offices but all must be natural born. The reason is being in public office as they grow older and create a record a few will someday seek the keys to the White House. Then responsible voters can see their record. But as Will Rogers said, "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
Jon.., let's frame Mamdani as a person with 'progressive' ideas centered on democratic values. Quite unfortunately, IMHO, he or they have chosen to plaster themselves under a banner with the word "socialist". Some people haven't seemed to notice, that 'shit' hasn't sold well. Not in NYC or anywhere else in this country. Oops.., I'm sorry..., someone just asked me exactly what "shit" I'm referring to. Answer: We're Americans here. This is America. One Nation indivisible. WE the People..., by The People.., for The People. A Nation formed by immigrants who have come from other places where that "shit" (socialist.., communist.., fascist.., ist, ist, ist, etc) doesn't work. Or, hasn't worked well. Putins playground: the USSR - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Please excuse my use of S--t as the descriptor for this post. Thank you. Efforts by 'The Democrat' to align under a freaking WORD is going to be paradise lost.
SOCIALIST, SOCIALIST, SOCIALIST. Run for your lives. That kind of B.S. made the Republican party what it is today; the party of hate and fear mongering. From A.I. "The Red Scare refers to periods of intense fear and anti-communist hysteria in the U.S., primarily the first after World War I (1917-1920) and the second during the Cold War (late 1940s-1950s), driven by fears of radicalism, socialism, and communism, leading to blacklists, loyalty oaths, government investigations (like HUAC), and persecution, famously exemplified by Senator Joseph McCarthy (<<!McCarthyismism), impacting free speech and society broadly. " Following Red Scare 2, they expanded hate and fear to people of color with the Southern Strategy and then LGBTQ+. Trumps says Somali immigrants are "garbage" and "lowlifes", plus Haitian immigrants eat your dogs and cats. Maybe it is time for Red Scare #3? This is a two party system. Look at Bill Clinton and Ross Perot vs H.W. Bush. That is what happens and if it happens against us it is bad. Giving the enemy the name SOCIALIST scares me to death.
Frankly, I find it ironic that the party that once railed against communism -- and that continues to fear-monger with the word "socialist" -- is now supporting Vladimir Putin.
Putin is a corporatist fascist, a Tory, a Republican in the R.I.N.O. sense; a damn Nazi. Like a little boy with army toys Trump looks up to such people and so does Wall Street.
Thanks Albert. All these frightening terms. You know what, if you google them, they are pretty-much all defined. Google "American". You'll get American Airlines, first up. One must really dig deep to get down to what constitutes an American, and then it's pretty sketchy. But, socialist? Hahahah.., the definition comes right up. Being that we are the United States of "America". It's long past time that we define who the heck we are. We are NOT socialists! We are a country of immigrants together with many native inhabitants who have established (by hook or crook) a 'Nation' we call America. Basically, we are one big persona - What do we stand for? Better that gets defined, instead of figuring out what the heck a Democratic Socialist is. To our credit though, the word "democrat" is spelled out, while "republican" is referred to as "a party". Yeah.., it's a "party" alright, right along with their communist brethren they so disdain.
"Basically, we are one big persona - What do we stand for? Better that gets defined, ..." I agree. I, have been editing a Memo and model amendment on that topic. At this point it addresses 22 problems which the Supreme Court and Trump have created; holes in out government. One of those 22 sections states "The legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Government of the United States of America shall jointly and severally assure that this government, and all governments within the jurisdiction of the United States of America, are a Republican Form of Government in which power is held by the citizens thereof, and the powers granted to these governments by the people thereof shall be separated among a legislative, executive and judicial branches, to the end it shall be a government of laws and not of any persons, thus no monarch, dictator, or tyrant shall exist therein, and through fair, open and transparent democratic elections elect officials to make laws, and the enforcement and application of the laws are to provide equal justice under the law, and this Constitution shall secure the equal non-transferable rights of all individual persons against any majority vote. "
It works well in Baghdad By the Sea.
Interesting. Agreeable that we fall apart at the wrong time. Bernie not supporting a flawed candidate Hillary is like Ralph Nader taking 90,000 votes and denying the best candidate for president in 100 years to a dumb mother f-er that set up the destruction of our country with his Supreme Court nominees. So I get it.
One thing I learned from my involvement in politics...never fall in love with a candidate, they're sure to break your heart.
We'll see.
Thank you, Albert. I hear as well that NYC does not have a lot of money. Just the opposite: they have a lot of debt.
Things may go well for NY, but it is wise to be cautious.
Yup Albert, tacking "socialist" onto it is like trying to rebrand the Edsel. It's an error that comes with a 'cost'. Ray Charles could "see" that. I'm assuming anyone reading this post might recognize the two puns I've cited. True Democrats, espouse democracy, which properly carried out encompasses a fair and honorable system. Enough of this "Edsels are the answer" bullshit.
Yeah, when I see socialist I think either they are a conman or very naive. Either way not the best choice for office.
Busted...! "I aint got no money honey". Ray.
Chantilly Lace, The Big Bopper. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0DnvC3y64I
Georgia, beautifully said!
I see Mamdani’s election differently, as a reaffirmation of America, of a people waking up and working hard to protect it and uphold its Constitution.
I agree that is definitely the hope for the future that Mamdani brings and as well as a rememberance of what we have to get back too.
I was thinking specifically about DOJ, and how it had been perceived before Trump as an institution with integrity and a culture of values, and norms against slippage in those characterisitics. As Dobel argues in his book, it is individual leaders and managers, and workers adhering to their promises (or oaths) and individually taking responsibility and exhibiting courage of their beliefs and personal integrity that are responsible for both implementing and upholding the institutional culture.
All of that is utterly gone in the present DOJ. Project 2025 did its job of populating not just the upper ranks of the DOJ with its corrupt political appointees, but of driving out most of the mid-level career lawyers who upheld the institutional standards and norms with their personal integrity. There is way more to build back than just a corrupt top—it requires repopulating the middle ranks.
And in response we see he attacked another country and captured their leader…clearly the failing has begun, as we have now jumped the shark! Of course the GOP love the strained leadership of Donny-John…it is funny he removed a strongman who likely succeeded in stealing an election. What does that tell you? Doesn’t like the competition?
Georgia Fisanick,
We need more courageous Mamdani's who take their faith seriously and who truly want to serve the people...not just fill their investment/bank accounts.
Georgia, a great "view from the porch...".
Thank you! If you are interested at all in the war in Ukraine and the US involvement that is my focus these days on a “‘view from the porch"
There is not alot of coverage anymore after 4 years, and the mainstream media is lazy and biased, and just amplifies Trump clickbait. Breaking with our European allies is going to have a profound effect on US foreign policy, and our economy. It is the culture I was raised in, so I have skin in the game.
….No more trumps! Amen!
Democratic establishment take note: Mamdani is what is referred to as a “leader.” Note the contrast - he rallies people by talking about what he is going to DO, and makes it abundantly clear that he has their back. You, on the other hand, rely on garnering votes by endlessly telling people that “Trump is bad,” hoping that they won’t notice that you haven’t crafted a coherent policy platform in what seems like decades. At the risk of alienating your corporate sugar daddies, stop trading in mealy-mouthed nonsense and work for the things people want: Universal healthcare. College and trades education that doesn’t come with crushing debt. Wages that support families. An attack on wealth inequality. A climate that won’t incinerate the planet.
Meanwhile Trump has gotten us into a war with Venezuela, without even telling us. We are attacking the country with bombings like Nixon's covert bombings of Cambodia.Trump needs to be impeached. Vance too if he knows about this.
https://open.substack.com/pub/counteroffensive/p/newsflash-loud-explosions-overnight?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Impeach Vance, too, regardless!
No one in this cabinet has clean hands!!
Time the slow impeachment so that conviction occurs p Jan 3, 2027, with 33 senators who were up for re-election while impeachment was #1 issue for re-election.
Sun Tzu might advise: Time impeachment to best exploit T’s terminal terrors and Vance & Theil’s (and Altman’s, Musk’s Zuckerberg’s, Bezos’, Andresson’s, Ellison’s, Huang’s, Diamond’s,…) oligarchic ambitions. They will try to move T out well before midterms, but that speed may not be in the interest of democracy.
Expecting the military may need to enforce the constitution during midterms (paper ballots & massive manual audits). The leadership will need support, but most are smarter than most elected officials.
Both a midterm wave and conviction of most/all of corrupt cabinet is needed - or democracy in US will be gone for good, and violence will replace it.
Read: The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality, by historian Walter Scheidel. Also, Fall of Great Powers, by Paul Kennedy. Re-read: Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth, and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century, by Alvin & Heidi Toffler, with the view that power has shifted yet again, from knowledge to attention control. Then Read: Your Face Belongs to Us, by Kashmir Hill. And you've already read, Freedom’s Dominion, by Jefferson Cowie & Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson. And of course, for context & quotes, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon.
Then, for reassurance that there is lots of intelligent life on earth, read A Brief History of Intelligence by Max Bennett.
Understand that AGI is the most anti-democratic tool ever invented, as it enormously facilitates oligarchy - the very one that creates it. Like the bomb it can’t be uninvented. Unlike the bomb, AGI will be owned by China. To its builders, it represents a power singularity.
T is for Tottering Tyrant, but OMG is for AGI enabled Oligarchy by our ‘Other’.
But don’t even BEGIN impeachment proceedings unless we KNOW we have the votes in the senate to convict and remove!!!
I would disagree. Impeachment by itself sends a message, makes people aware perhaps of something they wouldn't ordinarily be aware of. Plus it puts it in the Nation's permanent record. And maybe, just maybe, put the fear of God in the next asshole that wants to commit Sedition.
I personally think it’s a waste of time and political capital.
Expect keeping one’s ‘political capital’ powder dry may be moot in <12 months. Impeachment takes time.
Expect if we don’t use our political capital soon, it will have no ‘currency’, it will no longer be coin of the realm.
In other words, the barbarians are not ‘at the gates’, they are inside the throne room.
Which we CLEARLY DO NOT. Conviction requires 67 votes. THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY the Democrats could get 20 GOP votes to support an impeachment conviction. NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.
You've never tried a case.
Never say never.
"Unless we KNOW we have the votes in the senate..."
I disagree. If a strong case is made with witnesses and public exposure, and if the House managers are given the right to voir dire, it's possible to hold the senators to their oaths.
IMHO the house managers in Trump #45 impeachment # 2 committed legal malpractice when they failed to call witnesses....
Should have called Pence and McConnell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj5pvgXAgMs
WARNING....The invasion of Venezuela comes on the heels of a warning from Ben Meiselas today of a post made last Sunday on Curtis Yarvin's far-right substack, "Gray Mirror." Ben Meiselas stated: "Yarvin warned that the second Trump Administration already looks like a " failure" and a "tragedy" that has lost momentum and that, without a manufactured crisis, Republicans could wipe-out in the midterms and face legal consequences down the line. Yarvin is somebody who many Maga faithfuls look to for guidance, especially figures like JD Vance."
Yarvin influenced Project 2025 and many Magas. Also, Peter Thiel helped finance one of his computer platforms. Yarvin's predictions forewarn of desperate measures to come and give the "cornered rats" more incentive to protect their cheese.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and claim the opposite about JD Wanker -- he's as magnetic and influential as a cereal bowl filled with cold, slimy eels. "Dimmer than a small appliance bulb" was an appropriate quote I once heard. I doubt even MAGA can look at this wormy, eyelinered phony without rolling their eyes. In prison, the term for him would just be "little bitch." Satan himself could stand behind him, and that's all he'd still come across as. Maybelline Mini-Me on wheels.
Clearly, Venezuela is a manufactured crisis, to say nothing of the 3-year-old comment to Iran today about being "locked and loaded." There is no point, no substance, no meaning, no strategy, no there there at all. On display is weakness, not strength or resoluteness. Surely every high-ranking military officer knows it, too.
What will the military do when the US wakes to the kidnapping of Maduro and his wife? Little Marco must be out of government before he repeats in Cuba. That he is applauding makes him criminally complicit. Who are we today? If we don’t find out fast, we are toast. Civil war?
I certainly hope NOT civil war. But we are probably a lot closer to something along those lines than we were the night before New Year's Eve. This can go wrong in so many ways, and Trump has all the power.
The “dim appliance bulb” quote came an SNL skit decades ago
I 💕 Ben, he tells it like it is!
Yes, this is already a disaster and could get worse.
Unfortunately there is a huge difference between Nixon's era and now. When Nixon bombed Cambodia, and then got his henchmen to break into the Democratic headquarters and Watergate, the Congress (both houses) had clear Democratic majorities. Those majorities had the votes to impeach (easily) and even a decent chance at conviction in the Senate with just a few GOP votes.
Today, the House is 220-215 GOP and the Senate is 53-47 GOP. It is POSSIBLE with the help of a few GOP congresscritters that an impeachment could be pressed against Trump (and even Vance) but there is virtually NO CHANCE that a conviction could be secured in the Senate. That would take 20+ GOP Senators to vote with the Democrats (assuming all the Democrats voted for conviction) and that is NOT going to happen in any current world. I am not even sure that a majority would vote for an impeachment conviction in the Senate (51 votes and that wouldn't mean anything anyway).
If this illegal bombing of Venezuela draws significant media and political outrage, the political climate MIGHT start to sway, but I still doubt there will ever be enough support for an impeachment conviction.
Now a cynic, I kept agreeing with your words until I read “draws significant media and political outrage”. Of course I hope you are right but we have the worst Scotus in history that gave the President keys to unbound corruption, a Congress dominated by MAGA fools, and a press largely owned by billionaire MAGA sycophants. But, I will control my cynicism (which is new for me) and revert to hope, just like Obama reminded us.
As Republicans might be reminded of the law, perhaps they will at last recognize that they are following a felon, come to their senses, and listen to their voters.
Ah, ye of naive sentiments...
I would wish it true, but i also know that it isn't likely.
George, my hope is that the vote of November 2026 will take place and be part of a return to sanity. I work on it every day, and some days there are good results. Do you know about the mayor-elect of Miami?
There was nothing remotely covert about this, Linda. He's been threatening to do this for months and now he's gone and done it. The administration has been stepping up its attacks on so-called narco-terrorists but now the lie has been exposed and regime change is on its way although the Venezuelan, Delcy Rodriguez, claims she's now in charge is demanding proof that Maduro and his wife are still in charge.
Trump has also recently made similar threats about the military being 'locked and loaded' if Iran kills protesters, something that the regime did throughout his first term in office.
Russell, did you laugh when you read Trump's declaration that our country shouldn't be run by stupid and incompetent people? I did. Its laughable, but sad and frightening that that is indeed what is happening.
I sure did.
You have said your mother has dementia. Would you trust her with the nuclear codes? Do you truly believe trump is accountable for his confabulation? I spent an hour with my demented grandmother. Nearly the entire time she mumbled, but 3-4 times she would glance up, make eye contact and I could see was looking at me, Donnie; and then it was gone. My mother was in a coma. At first her eyes would flutter when she heard my voice, and she would even pick up my hand and put it on her forehead. Should I blame them for what was happening? I put on my man-pants and listened to "trump's" speech this morning. I could see instances where he paused and wanted to go off-script, but didn't. I wonder why?
Donald my mom does have dementia. My mom could not keep the nuclear codes because she would lose them in a second. She is 91.5 years old, and so has a few years on Trump. Still, I would not trust Trump with the nuclear codes if he were in the prime of his life either.
Lifelong student of history and government and I always learn something new — a fact, a perspective — from your columns; thank you for that. In the Dec. 2 one, especiallyadmired the walk~off graf: perfect placement, just the right touch.
Also have been enjoying the exchange this past week or so between two medical sorts, each with appropriately impressive CVs. The first unwound before us a strong factual chain pointing to Trump receiving weekly injections of a drug used not to prevent Alzheimer’s!s but, when the condition already is established, to slow its progression.
The second counters (in caps, no kess) that it’s not Alzheimer’s but that Trump’s symptoms
Strongly indicate he suffers from the shrinkage — the literal disappearance — of the frontal temporal lobe of his brain.
I couldn’t even attempt to choose which, if either, are correct but even if the accurate diagnosis is behind Door 3, none of the presidential actions these past months are what one would hope to see from the chap who still, I cannot forget, has the launch codes
Which is a way too verbose way of saying that I begin 2026 eagerly awaiting people such as yourself to start examining what comes next — when Congress and other American institutions (universities, networks, heritage bewspapers, cities and states) start to move to reassert the limits to presidential power.
In short (at last! You say), I begin 2026 eagerly awaiting the curtain to rise on Act 2. And I can’t wait to read what you think of it!
Whatever part holds conscience is surely long gone.
Probably never developed...
A conscience was never there!
I vote for frontal lobe disappearance.
Here ya go. https://fb.watch/Er5k6yzrHI/?fs=e
Try this little piece of history and then I’ll send you one more
https://youtube.com/shorts/ka-TnMKRSHM?si=7L6AhR38wvV0bCI0
His brain could shrink to 50% of what it is and he would still have three times the brain of anybody on this blog, including your illustrious leader, Heather.
The curtain is gonna rise on act two it’s gonna be the best you America’s had in a long time. Try not to miss it.
If Dems lived in touch with our humanities in touch with the people, Dems would be alive.
Alive to the hurt abroad the land. Alive to the need for clear iteration of programs such as Mamdani clearly knows the people need.
But Dems are in touch with virtually none of our humanities. Rather, abstractions rule for them, and views of people as units in groups only. Or numbers, as in amounts of funds raised.
I have a list of several dozen super fine Dems -- each individually great, in public offices at every level across America. But there's no coherence among them, none of them calling out the fine qualities of the others -- and none appearing as guests for Dems otherwise lonely and forgotten by Dem leadership in red parts of America.
I say, that's where our best Dem voices need to be raised.
(We) "Dems" is a lot of people, most of whom I'd say are 'in touch with our humanities'.
I expect you may be critiquing a particular 250 to 1,000 visible political people, out of the 45,000,000 fine people who consider themselves Dems?
😉
So why does the minority have the microphone, or have dropped it (accidentally)
Excellent question!
What’s your theory?
Mine is that most D’s (and R’s!) were busy with kids, sports, school/work, eating and sleeping, while being misdirected by the small number of bad folk (which mostly good folk elected - but what good person would ever want to serve in US gov’t AND has enough money to buy the requisite votes?), AND by the commercial (eg, ‘owned’) misinfotainment media.
In brief, they're not rational choices, nor our best options; they are plutocratic face paint.
Dems will never have enough money to buy the “requisite number of votes.” Dems depend on “the kindness of strangers” much of the time while repubs depend on the billions and the clever dirty tricks of the psychopaths who have vast experience gouging the rest of us
‘Combined, Bloomberg and fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer spent over $1.4 billion in their own funds to self-finance their 2020 primary campaigns. Even without factoring in that unprecedented influx of self-funding, Democratic candidates in the 2020 primary still outspent Republican candidates in the 2024 Republican primary by about $500 million.’
(From open secrets website)
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/10/total-2024-election-spending-projected-to-exceed-previous-record/
I have nothing but pity for those who believe themselves to be allegiant to one party how utterly stupid ignorant closed minded and closed off from reality. And that goes for people on either side of the aisle.
To a large degree, yes, loyalty and allegiances are not rational. (But one might point out that mother nature's reality favored kin-selection and tribalism OVER AND OVER because it was more effective (e-motive?) than our fair-minded (?) rationality.)
My own objection to usual party allegiance may or may not be similar to yours; my objection is that party loyalties are a cultivated orthogonal misdirection of priorities by the oligarchs.
We the People on the bottom desperately need to unite against the top, & to NOT allow ourselves to be divided by the top, as left v right!
Mark in addition, many people seem to forget that the top includes both left and right.
This is true, particularly in terms of political power. Less so, but still true in terms of corporate and financial power.
But billionaires of any political inclination have more interests in common than they do with me. Or you, I'm guessing.
For almost 50 years, I’ve been a independent voter registered. Independent I have never understood how somebody religiously aligned with a party could think for themselves rationally without being let astray in group think bubble think weakness almost like living in a circle jerk of banishment. Mark your analysis is OK, but there are too many fervent haters today. All they need to hear is the word Trump and the brain goes into electric shock. In the meantime they can’t name one policy that has negatively affected them. It’s really sad.
Here you go Mark here’s a newly uncovered little Diddy I found from 1989 Joe Biden in his own words and yes, this is the same Joe Biden that while in Congress held up a nickels worth of cocaine in his hand and he said if anybody is found with this much cocaine mandated five years in prison, no parole, but it doesn’t include my son lol O L
And here’s the link I was talking about Joe Biden in his own words
1989
Here to all you Biden lovers. Here’s a little presentation and a link Joe Biden his own words we need to go after these narco terrorists. With a strike force oooops
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/flashback-bidens-1989-no-nonsense-warning-to-narco-terrorists-flooding-us-with-drugs/vi-AA1ROoRi
And here is a little known video with Joe Biden himself talking about increased enforcement against narco terrorist. Here is Joe Biden in his own words. 1989. This is very similar to Joe when he held up a nickels worth of cocaine in his hand on the floor of Congress and said anybody in possession of this five cents size of crack cocaine should go to prison five years no parole….. except if his name is Hunter Biden. He didn’t really say that I just added it but here’s his little narco terrorist speech in 1989
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/another-d-day-biden-once-urged-international-strike-force-narco-terrorists-dems-now-blast-trump
Apparently, MSN doesn’t want to show this one anymore, but here’s the same interview from Fox. I saw it on TV.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/another-d-day-biden-once-urged-international-strike-force-narco-terrorists-dems-now-blast-trump let’s see if this one works
Dems are as organized as the three cats I had.
Yes, this!! 🎯
The diversity is a strength - so long as it is accompanied by a greater strength of a conviction in the NECISSITY of mutual tolerance and inter-group support among the big tent D parties.
As soon as ‘my’ special interest or identity group is more important than yours, or ANY other dem sub group, Dems are Done. We become pathetic pup-tent dems.
AMPLIFICATION of ‘our’ selfish small-minded, identity-politic, myopically-focused internal-division DISEASE is how Putin - a third rate power- destroys NATO (~strongest alliance in history of the world). Without a shot. Pure Sun Tzu.
Sowing division among the opposition is how any group destroys another.
Time to put our relatively insignificant personal pet projects aside.
So true, big tents make for lots of petty conflicts often. Repubs seem to have over-arching interest in hate, greed and power. How can public service compete…
Here to all you Biden lovers. Here’s a little presentation and a link Joe Biden his own words we need to go after these narco terrorists. With a strike force oooops
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/flashback-bidens-1989-no-nonsense-warning-to-narco-terrorists-flooding-us-with-drugs/vi-AA1ROoRi
Well, the one on MSN apparently does not open but here it is from a Fox network but it doesn’t matter it’s Joes voice and Joes presentation in 1989
And here is a little known video with Joe Biden himself talking about increased enforcement against narco terrorist. Here is Joe Biden in his own words. 1989. This is very similar to Joe when he held up a nickels worth of cocaine in his hand on the floor of Congress and said anybody in possession of this five cents size of crack cocaine should go to prison five years no parole….. except if his name is Hunter Biden. He didn’t really say that I just added it but here’s his little narco terrorist speech in 1989
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/another-d-day-biden-once-urged-international-strike-force-narco-terrorists-dems-now-blast-trump
Here’s what the Democrats have right now Phil nothing no leaders no agenda except for hate Trump. You got the wacko that drove California into ruins.
You got the ex bartender who gives us only four more years to live because of climate change and now she has the resurrect herself for that belief
You have Buddha judge who spent billions of dollars and gave us nothing
Do you have Jasmine crockpot What else you got? Yeah you can get or you can run cackling kneepads again that will work. The only person you have that can make it is a person that the left hates right now …a Jew. So good luck Philly.
Actually, Rick, 'the left' does not hate Jews, nor Israel. Most on the left are not 'locked-in'. They have Jewish friends, neighbors, colleagues, and/or family. I am protestant, but like many, have hundreds of Jews in my contact list - not unusual for an adult businessman or professional. I've been uniquely honored to be groomsman in two Jewish weddings in my long life. I'm a preacher's kid, but I've been to synagogue.
Many on the left DO despise Netanyahu. I sure do. Must give you that.
And extreme Zionism is exactly as morally bankrupt as extreme Islam.
But Mamdani - ya gotta love that man - I hope he delivers for NY. So inspiring and courageous a leader!
ZM: "And Trump, I know you're listening.
I have 4 words for you: TURN THE VOLUME UP!"
-and then the crowd screams, of course.
It will be even harder than he imagines (speaking as a retired career civil servant - state, federal, and international posts). But he, Bernie, AOC, ... and other social democrats are on (long) course to correct America's morbid fascination with wealth, greed, power corruption, and general ass-hole-ness. And they are getting a growing reception from left AND right.
America is known for always finding the best way forward - after exhausting all other possibilities. Keep the faith.
it’s funny when you use a term like Zionism that 98% of the population of the world don’t even have a clue as to what it means and it’s not an impetus in anything except when it comes to Muslims hating Zionist that’s it
https://t.co/bgObQwBYWJ There’s one more beauty for you when you talk about New York and I hope you enjoy the video I sent you true story of the legacy of Socialism throughout the world in history
I have faith in everybody that doesn’t have a residence right here
Bernie Sanders, the self-loathing Jew is a lost soul and a lost cause AOC is going to have to Ducker prediction of global disaster for years from now will probably end up going back to bartending.
And you’re dreaming if America thinks I could find the best way forward
Actually sent in 13 million more votes for Joe Biden who had done nothing as entire life had no legacy legislation just was a civil servant for 40 years with no outstanding record they gave him 13 million more votes than Obama, the god. The only reason they did that mark is because the opponents name was Trump. They ended up being wrong about everything. About five months ago, I posted the top 20 accomplishments of Trump and there’s been 50 more since then every single thing he’s done for this country so far has made it a better place to live better economics, better safety, the lowest crime, the lowest violent crime in decades, and this year is gonna be better because of the big beautiful bill that targets a lot of the poor. If you want to start blaming somebody for medical care, blame Barack Obama
By the way, did you notice the nice Palestinian flag march in New York City the other day nothing but Palestinian flags and signs about the Jews in Gaza in New York City
Mark Pay, attention Mr. Mo Tommy was kind enough to light the world trade tower to celebrate Muslim appreciation month in the middle of New York he has condemn Jews at every turn and where do you see what’s gonna happen with the self-loathing Jews in New York they’re gonna be scurrying for other states pretty quick
And didn’t I didn’t say they all hate Jews but for some of the votes and some of the things they support like the Palestinians, when they don’t understand that the Palestinians are occupying a self loathing and self-deprecating Gaza when they elected, that’s correct when they elected a Muslim terrorist organization to run their government so instead of providing their own electrical plants or water plants, they use the money that they get from the world for weapons
Just so you know, there were billboards growing around the country and here’s what the BILLBOARD says and they’re posted right at airports right against the airport fence line and it says if you think turbulence is scary, try wearing a Jewish star
I’ll give you the perfect definition for what my dummy will be he will be the exact meaning of the following sentence. The road to hell is paved with good intentions
Did you watch the video of bill Maher i’m gonna find it and share it with you and then maybe you’ll understand a little bit more in depth of what’s about to happen to New York
Here’s a little excerpt of Maher s done by Michelle Tafoya kind of a short clip of the Titanic is it sinks.
https://fb.watch/Er5k6yzrHI/?fs=e
Enjoy some of Maher's brilliant comedic work; some is pretty brain dead. Happy to look at a clip. But between us, I trust my judgement more. 😉
Neither the Jews nor the Palestinians are a one-flavour group. Huge amount of diversity out there!
Well, you’re right about one thing there are too many self-loathing Jews in New York who will go to learn very quickly what it’s like to be a Jew in the city run by an antisemite. And I’m gonna enjoy every minute of it because when you say people find a way well guess what? Sometimes it takes going the wrong way like they did with Joe Biden before they get there and it’s gonna be very painful. What’s gonna happen quickly? Is that many of the wealthy are going to leave if they can and then there will be no one to pay for what New York needs
And it’s really sad that almost all the blue big blue cities are in deficits California 80 billion even though they keep doubting their fourth highest economy in the world and then they can’t pay their bills and they let 12,000 houses burn and they let crime run, rampant and poverty and homelessness. It’s absolutely disgusting and I lived there for 30 years and got the hell out because I couldn’t stand to look at it anymore.\
Used to be the shining city on the hill now it’s the pile of shit on the hill
That is losing a half 1 million people every year as is New York as a Chicago not that many but guess what in all those territories they’re losing 20% of the population of anybody knew if 40% are coming in 60% are leaving
Here’s the problem MARK, that many people don’t know about Israel. There were 2 million Palestinians living in Israel outside of Gaza. They get along with the Jews every single day of their lives, and it’s only because the Palestinians decided to hire Hamas a terrorist organization as their government is why there’s problems there. End of sentence.
Well, MARK, you’re in for something good then because this has nothing to do with Bill Maher, he has a video of what Socialism has done around the world in historical and factual terms. He’s just showing you evidence and when you see it then you’ll believe it. This has nothing to do with mar, but it happens to be right on and when you see it you’re you’re gonna be unable to deny it. so here it is. Stay with her until he starts talking about New York
https://youtu.be/x10hEyRcqUA
Yawn. When have you complained about the lack of Republican leadership or vision?
They have evil leadership’s, worse than no leadership. Have been bitching and objecting for most of my adult life
The Republican “vision” is inarticulable in that it changes day to day. America First… oops South America First… oops American oil first, oops American oil Companies first!!
No new wars… ok a few new wars! “We’re not the police for the world… okay wait.. we are.” Grocery prices lowered on Day One…thousand, hey that’s Biden’s fault…Don’t worry about grocery prices, you’ll make it up on gas!!
The gaslighting is incredible!
Indeed.
Republican leadership as of late has not been very good. Donald Trump is the best president in the last 40 years since Bill Clinton. Bush one and two they both love their country, but we’re stupid. Idiots.
Where was it that your brain damage happened?
I voice text everything and and closing down free speech not the American way, except for cowards like you.
This is not about my college dissertation or my doctoral thesis and any intelligent human, which apparently does not include you in your hubris thinks that form is more important than content, and that way gives them the ability to ignore the facts and the logic and the content
Good luck to you apparently the next three years are gonna be your nightmare because 2006 is going to be much better than 2005 which is on a rocket ship ride of success in every segment of American consciousness.
I did not shut you down. What you wrote was incomprenensible. An intelligent person would have already learned to proof read voice to text. So, that leaves you out in the cold. Your threat about the next three years is as absurd as your other claims, I shall do just fine, no matter what happens.
Yawn at your own pleasure no issue for me. I just clicked on your arrow and your comment line and it wouldn’t let me come in so I ended up posting to one of your older posts, but it would not allow me to respond and that’s why I said what I said.
And if you’d like to refute the facts, oh never mind, you don’t want to refute the facts. You’re just gonna burn them.
Well, and I am the only protestant in the room and because of that I have to answer many many posts here… add my assumption, which is apparently incorrect intelligent people like yourself would be able to discern the meaning, even if there was a typo, a misspell the lack of a capital letter or ending the sentence with a preposition or a dangling participle my threat about the next three years? What the hell is that? I’m not threatening anything I’m basing it on. What’s gonna come next year in the way of tax refunds $2000 tax-free savings already per car vehicle owned on gas savings or raise an income by two grand per car owner. Ain’t no tax on tips no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security for those who qualify which are only those at the lower end of the economic scale the tariffs, which continue to roll in that have not caused the kind of inflation that anybody imagined people have all been wrong about that, including People like Bill Maher, a left-wing stand out and even fed chair Powell, who said these have not had the kind of impact that we thought And do you know why they haven’t anybody in business knows why exactly they haven’t and that’s why most of the people here have not been literally in the business world and don’t understand
Within two months after Biden took Office he opened the border without going to Congress and allowed anywhere between eight and 12 illegal immigrants to enter this board this country. He also flew people in from places like Venezuela and brought in members of tren
de Aragua some of the most dangerous people in the planet. Grocery prices went up 20% two months after Biden took office gas prices doubled soon thereafter mortgage rates tripled and the inflation rate went to 9% and with Donald Trump is having to do right now is to clean up that entire disaster which left nothing but sewage for Trump to clean up.
The happiest thing about your entire post was that no matter what you’re gonna do fine and that makes me feel really good. Because most of the people here are projecting disaster with their broken crystal balls and their Ouija board and have been doing so all year when the opposite has happened so thank you for your post I feel very comfortable if you’d like to continue to admonish my posts critique my posts or agree with my post free World and I welcome you
Well, it was superficial, but it started right here. Lolololol.
And the best thing know about most liberals they are graded criticism. They’re graded insults and they’re great ant ignorance. WITH NEVER ANY RATIONALE OR FACTS AT ALL to back up their ignorance
Great art great app thank you, Mr. AutoCorrect
Wow. Where to even start with that crap. Oh well, Not worth the effort arguing with someone that can not write intelligently. Go to school, learn English, get back to me.
Well said Mark.
Say it loud, and say it proud, Mark!!
Keep it simple. Wages of Americans have been kept to low. Washington state has the highest minimum at over $17. Corporate American has kept wages low. $25 should be the bare minimum. That makes so much more affordable. Like groceries, rent, health and transportation.
So what are you suggesting?
“Patrick unfortunately for you you make it obvious you’ve never been in business in your life. Really sad. Restaurants around the country are going out of business, mostly in California because of the minimum wage being unaffordable to the owners, causing them to raise prices that the people that now got the raises can’t even afford to buy food in their own restaurants.
Major restaurant changes have closed forever others are closing restaurants, including McDonald’s Subway even Starbucks is closing locations and some companies and some companies have gone out of business and you’ll never see them again because of what you want. You have never ever been in business in the retail area ever obviously sad
Oooooooh. Loud and proud. Lol
Mark Proulx, Kamala Harris’ platform was exactly “healthcare, education, affordable housing and green energy”. Her message couldn’t get past the right-wing narrative of “Democrats are transgender for everyone, guns for no one, and, they’re giving your money away to a bazillion rapist immigrants (who are eating the cats and the dogs)”. And certainly your message reflects this reality. The DNC and Democratic leadership have ignored the infrastructure needed to win elections. There is no apparent equivalent to the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, Fox News, and more recently the Washington Post, the NYT, CBS and so on. For the sake of our democracy we need to recapture the narrative and reestablish the difference between truth and lies. A poorly informed public went to the polls (or stayed home) and the ascendancy of autocracy is the result.
Democrats KNOW tRump is bad, we can all see it in real time. The democrat “establishment” HAS to “endlessly tell people he is bad” so that his incompetence isn’t normalised in the news media and citizen discourse. The Democrats under Obama started the process toward Universal Healthcare. The Democrats under Biden initiated the process toward student debt relief. The Democrats have supported a living minimum wage and have Led the World in Climate Change policy initiatives. So, I don’t understand the thrust of your post. It has been obvious to those of us in the democratic fight that these are exactly the policies that the party promotes. And instead a minority of voters apparently preferred fairy tales of pet eating immigrants and tariffs.
I agree that most elected officials are definitely not leaders; the fact that campaigning seems to have become a popularity contest that the candidates hope to win signals to me that they are followers.
https://t.co/bgObQwBYWJ
https://youtu.be/x10hEyRcqUA
Hey, maduro is a leader Putin is a leader . Marcos was a leader. Kim Jong-un is a leader
The only leader we’ve had in America in the last 40 years his name is Donald Trump
He is the Jim Jones of the modern era. Went for a rude awakening. I got a find that video.
I guess you haven’t been around very long when you were in school with the people that got A’s when you were in school with the people that got D’s and seas do you think their outcomes were the same in life? It’s also called effort inequality so get a grip.
Yeah, nobody says and watch New York guy in the process. I guess you don’t follow socialism, huh? Let me give you the definition.
The road to hell is paid with good intentions. He celebrates Muslims when there’s 1 million Jews in the city. This is gonna be the best thing that ever happened to America within a year and changed the political Landscape to republican in New York for the first time since Giuliani
Mark Proulx, Kamala Harris’ platform was exactly “healthcare, education, affordable housing and green energy”. Her message couldn’t get past the right-wing narrative of “Democrats are transgender for everyone, guns for no one, and, they’re giving your money away to a bazillion rapist immigrants (who are eating the cats and the dogs)”. And certainly your message reflects this reality. The DNC and Democratic leadership have ignored the infrastructure needed to win elections. There is no apparent equivalent to the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, Fox News, and more recently the Washington Post, the NYT, CBS and so on. For the sake of our democracy we need to recapture the narrative and reestablish the difference between truth and lies. A poorly informed public went to the polls (or stayed home) and the ascendancy of autocracy is the result.
Mamdani has the potential to lead! Talking must translate into action! Please let the Mayor do his job before crowning him!
Everyday Americans can write a new story not only in New York - but all over the country. Just keep using your voice and demanding better (and accountability for so many things currently happening)
There’s a calendar on my spreadsheet so we can target our calls/letters/emails/faxes to flood offices in an organized manner.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Nokings) as a resource to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Add a comment to help keep this bumped ✊ New eyes seeing this means new ripples for change! 🤞
Thank you Megan for always keeping this front and center.
Megan is a good guy just unfortunately hasn’t had to deal with the reality of socialism. And a good example of that is Cuba and Venezuela. As soon as socialist over Cuba, all the wealthy left within the first three years doctors, lawyers, accountants and businessman as soon as Maduro took over and Venezuela, or his predecessor had started socialism. They took it from one of the wealthiest countries in the world bragging about their wealth to the average citizen actually losing 30 pounds For not having enough food to eat
Thank you, Megan. You help us rise above the daily noise and chaos of this regime.
Time today to write members of the Armed Services Committees, regardless of who your particular Representatives and Senators are.
About what? What are you gonna do when Trump sends a missile into the Kremlin and kills Putin? Oh my God it’s unconstitutional that was an authority use of the military. He wasn’t authorized. He should be arrest arrested. He should be impeached you people are with some of the most ignorant human beings on the planet. It’s just disgusting to watch.
I will be certainly calling my congressman (James Walkinshaw) Monday morning to urge he do whatever it takes to move articles of impeachment forward with utmost urgency.
What a great little spreadsheet. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome! Thanks for speaking up right now!
thank you!
You’re welcome! ✊
Megan a year from now you’re gonna erase the story of New York from your memory
He celebrates Muslims when 1 million Jews live in the city and wait till you see all of them who are starting to move already. Anybody wealthy was not physically attached to the city is going to be leaving just like they did in California half 1 million a year including huge companies.
A study of contrasts between an energetic democratic socialist celebrating human potential and an embittered, enfeebled old man whose vitriolic hatred keeps him up all night.
Compare and contrast
"GOP" vs
”and I stand just as resolutely alongside those who did not…. I promise you this: if you are a New Yorker, I am your Mayor. Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you.”
Have to say, a breath of fresh air!
Love this man - this American leader who has found his times.
GOP = "Greedily Odious Plutocrats," aka "GOPorkers," aka "RepubliKlan Party." Alas, the post-Kennedy "Democratic" (sic) Party is not that much better. By contrast, Mayor Mamdani, with his resurrection of the New Deal, is truly our future -- if indeed we are to have any future at all. (Born when two of the greatest-ever Americans were in office -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt our President and Fiorello La Guardia the mayor of my birthplace -- never have I been prouder to be a New Yorker than now with Mamdani in Gracie Mansion, even permanently exiled as I am by gentrification.)
GOP= the fascist party
Why do I feel like ' Eagle going down ' is something Putin would say,very symbolic. Also I am surrounded by wind turbines here in Portugal. They are quiet and I've never seen a dead bird....what a crock of #@$#.
You don't live where millions of birds share their annual migration map with hundreds of 300ft tall windmills.
Do cats kill more birds than wind turbines?
AI Overview
+9
Fossil Fuels and Power Lines Kill More Birds than Wind Turbines
Yes, domestic and feral cats kill vastly more birds than wind turbines, with estimates suggesting cats kill billions annually in the U.S. compared to hundreds of thousands by turbines, making cats the leading human-caused threat, far surpassing turbines, buildings, and vehicles.
Bird Mortality by Cause (U.S. Estimates)
Cats: 1.3 to 4 billion birds per year (median ~2.4 billion).
Buildings (Windows): 100 million to 1 billion per year.
Vehicles: Millions per year (e.g., 200-214 million).
Communication Towers: Millions (e.g., 6.8 million).
Wind Turbines: Hundreds of thousands (e.g., 200,000 - 300,000).
Key Takeaways
Magnitude Difference: The number of birds killed by cats is thousands of times higher than those killed by wind turbines.
Context Matters:
While wind turbines do kill birds, their impact is relatively small compared to other human-related causes, especially cats and building collisions.
Primary Culprit: Unowned (feral/stray) cats are responsible for the majority of cat-related bird deaths, but pet cats with outdoor access also contribute significantly.
I’m sure a lot of this is true, but please don’t rely on AI for this information when it’s available from organizations like the American Bird Conservancy.
(Having problems editing my post above on a phone.) Loss of habitat and development are also major factors affecting bird populations.
I have noted this issue as well. IOS device?
Yes.
FYI. It is the tenth anniversary of the right wing extremist violent occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, in eastern Oregon.
“Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
On January 2, 2016, an armed group of right-wing activists[26] seized and performed an adverse occupation of the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon,[27] and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February 11, 2016.[28] Their leader was Ammon Bundy, who participated in the 2014 Bundy standoff at his father's Nevada ranch. Other members of the group were loosely affiliated with non-governmental militias and the sovereign citizen movement.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Malheur_National_Wildlife_Refuge
Does the US Fish and Wildlife Service qualify as a legitimate information source in your opinion? Many likely discount it as a legitimate source of information (more true during Trump and other GOP administrations than when Dems are in charge) because it is part of the much maligned federal government. Many also probably categorically discount the American Bird Conservancy as nothing but a bunch of busybody bird watchers.
https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/threats-birds
The American Bird Conservancy is NOT a "bunch of busybody bird watchers." It's a science-based organization.
I think we agree. But not all share that opinion.
My comment was directed at the one topic of birds and windmills. It is well known that windmills are a serious threat to migratory birds. The original comment made about as much sense as saying "I don't know anybody who voted for Trump".
Do you have a source for your numbers? Respectfully, IMHO they are not believable.
Estimates for bird mortality from wind turbines in the United States vary. Earlier studies (2013-2014) suggested 140,000 to 679,000 birds annually. More recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data indicates an average of 234,000 bird deaths each year from land-based wind turbines. These figures are considered conservative and likely higher today due to increased wind farm operations.
A 2012 study found that wind projects kill 0.269 birds per gigawatt-hour of electricity produced, compared to 5.18 birds killed per gigawatt-hour of electricity from fossil fuel projects. 6 That's in part due to collisions with equipment (wind turbines aren't the only energy infrastructure birds can fly into), but mostly because of the ...
Yale E360
https://e360.yale.edu › features › wind-turbine-bird-collision-solutions
Birds vs. Wind Turbines: New Research Aims to Prevent Deaths
Jun 4, 2025Window collisions and cats kill more birds than wind farms do, but ornithologists say turbine impacts must be taken seriously. Scientists are testing a range of technologies to reduce bird strikes — from painting stripes to using artificial intelligence — to keep birds safe.
Green Matters
https://www.greenmatters.com › news › do-windmills-kill-bald-eagles
Fact Check: Do Windmills Really Kill Birds and Bald Eagles?
3 days agoDo windmills kill bald eagles? According to the American Bird Conservancy, wind turbines are responsible for killing between 700 and 1 million birds each year in the U.S., a figure that does include some bald eagles.
biologyinsights.com
https://biologyinsights.com › how-many-wind-turbine-bird-deaths-actually-occur
How Many Wind Turbine Bird Deaths Actually Occur?
Jul 22, 2025Vehicle collisions are estimated to kill over 200 million birds annually. When viewed against these figures, bird deaths attributed to wind turbines, while not insignificant, represent a smaller proportion of overall avian mortality from human causes.
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Wind Turbines Kill Birds - Fact or Fiction - The Real Data
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Wind turbines kill too many birds and bats. How can we… | Canary Media
Wind turbines kill too many birds and bats. How ca
Does this include birds sucked into airplane engines/propellers ?
I don’t know, but I imagine only birds large and numerous enough to damage planes, as was the case when Captain Sullenberger was forced to land on the Hudson River, are even noticed.
Those darn neighborhood cats just hang out under my bird feeders ready to eat their dinner !
Kitty. Kitties.
I wonder how many birds, cats, dogs, cattle of all sorts, and people die every year from the pollution of coal fired plants.
https://cns.utexas.edu/news/research/coal-power-killed-half-million-people-us-over-two-decades
The subject was birds and windmills. Please pay attention and stay on topic
I am on topic, too bad you weren't able to see the connection.
It would have helped you understand the deeper issue.
There are, in fact, proven ways to site and build wind turbines to minimize the impacts on birds… but this administration is removing environmental protections that have been in place for decades, and chances are that they won’t create additional regulations for wind farms.
You are probably right. My initial comment was simply directed to an inane statement.
Estimates for bird mortality from wind turbines in the United States vary. Earlier studies (2013-2014) suggested 140,000 to 679,000 birds annually. More recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data indicates an average of 234,000 bird deaths each year from land-based wind turbines. These figures are considered conservative and likely higher today due to increased wind farm operations.
time
Search Assist
Yes, wind turbines do kill birds, but the number is significantly lower compared to other causes of bird deaths, such as collisions with buildings and predation by house cats. Estimates suggest that wind turbines may kill between 140,000 to 1.17 million birds annually in the U.S., but this is a small fraction of the total bird mortality from other it’s good if you live in denial, there a mad Hatter
Would you like to know how many birds solar panels kill that are in a huge array
I was only commenting on the original inane statement about not seeing any dead birds around local wind farms. Made about as much sense as saying "I don't know anybody who voted for Trump".
Sorry about that please accept my apology as I did not understand it clearly
time
Search Assist
Yes, wind turbines do kill birds, but the number is significantly lower compared to other causes of bird deaths, such as collisions with buildings and predation by house cats. Estimates suggest that wind turbines may kill between 140,000 to 1.17 million birds annually in the U.S., but this is a small fraction of the total bird mortality from other so in other words, it’s an acceptable amount of unnatural causes lol
This is just one link check out a few more Karen. Google do wind turbines kill birds in Portugal.
Well, don’t worry you won’t see anymore in the states either but I live in an area with a huge array of solar panels and the average couple years ago they were averaging about 900 birds a year being burnt to a crisp
What does it mean when the leader of a country has progressive dementia? And that country has the biggest military force in history? Leaving aside the repugnant politics of the MAGA, this would be dangerous regardless of party. The difference is that the Democrats, and even the old school Republicans, would do something about it. But not the MAGA. How does this end?
How does this end? It may not -- until November. But end it will. We have reached the flailing, not yet the failing, stage. It remains our duty and our joy to widen the cracks now appearing literally every day. MAGA is splintering, the dementia is accelerating, and Republicans are already mumbling about the need to spend more time with their families as they head for the exit door.
It is important to focus not just on the dangerous short-term, but the longer-term, after the Hindenburg cult has finally blown up. It's actually coming quite rapidly.
Heh! Heh! ..... "the Hindenburg cult"... now that is one of your best so far....!!!!
And do you see expansion or contraction…in the longer term.
For just one thing dear Annabel, it means that others (you know who) are actually running the whole show, all the while with teams arrayed to pacify and praise the simpleton.
One could, and many did, predict exactly this on Nov 6, 2024. The fear and loathing of obvious evil have been overshadowed by the worship of power and evil. The eternal struggle…
Also predicted in 2015 and onward. “Republicans” have been brewing this stew for far longer in quiet clatches all over the country. Redmap was not the earliest sign.
…first I noticed was in Philadelphia, Miss long, long ago
To my surprise, someone commented on this site just a couple of days ago that nobody could have foreseen what trump and the right-wingers have done in the past year.
You would have to have not paid any attention to trump and his policies for the past 10 years, they have always told us who they are and what they want to do. Project 2025 was published months ahead of the 2024 election.
Anyone who paid attention to trump over the years knew he was lying when he said that he knew nothing about it during his campaign.
What does it mean you ask?
It means we invade a small country in South America.
Venezuela is not that small (ranked 33rd out of 197 countries in geographic area, and 54th by population), and has a long history of guerrilla insurgency. We’ll find out how it works out for the MAGA regime to “occupy” such a place. They may be surprised.
You make valid points. So, I'm looking at a map of South America and yes it's bigger than Texas, and you're also correct it has a sizable population. And yes, its history is one of instability, corruption, and dictatorships.
Since 'small' is undefined I did use it as a description comparing it to other South American countries and us, the US.
So I stand corrected by your points.
That said, one of Trump's promises to MAGA was that we would not get involved in nation building or regime changes in other countries. It was a promise he made to MAGA adherents who questioned our losses and failure to establish democracies during the last quarter century.
You are correct to say there may be a surprise. But a surprise it will be, history usually doesn't go well when vacuums are created or superpowers don't learn the lessons of history.
If you mean pre-southern strategy Republicans when you say old school Republicans, I agree with that statement.
Once we get through this, and we will, we need to elect representatives who will support age limits and terms limits. That is at the very least one of the most obvious guardrails that we can build to protect our democracy. And we need to start somewhere as soon as we can so the We the People know we are serious. As serious as Mamdani.
Age limits? No. That would deny America the wisdom and determination of older statesmen and stateswomen like Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders.
Both Sanders and Pelosi were wise long before aged. The notion that age brings wisdom is simply a canard. It is a view wholly without basis.
There is a very long road between youth and old age. Along that road lay vigor and insight, qualities not to be ignored.
They are still valuable voices and votes in Congress today. Their age doesn't automatically make them lesser human beings or leaders politically. I endorse term limits for federal judges including Supreme Court Justices, but as long as people chose their representatives and Senators, I believe voters should determine how long they stay.
Like Chuck Grassley’s voters? McConnell’s voters? I used to be against this idea because I believed that we had an informed and educated electorate. I no longer believe that. I believe Democracy needs a little “youth shot” in the arm once in a while! And putting a limit of 65 years old isn’t exactly radical!!
One doesn't need to give governance power to people in order to listen to and benefit from their advice.
Can't "like" you because of Pelosi -- a key conspirator in the capitalist malevolence that denied Sen. Sanders the presidency -- but I emphatically agree with you about our need for his "wisdom and determination."
Bernie, a remarkable man whom I deeply admire, was never going to win the presidency. Had he, it would have been a virtually empty victory. It is worse than an unfortunate circumstance that in this nation we have a mere 2 political parties with a jealously guarded lock on power.
That Biden, great as he is, was the Democratic candidate in 2024 was the blunder that ushered in the narcoleptic terror monger, Drumpf and his gaggle of criminals.
Neither of the two candidates should have been on the slate.
BS. While I appreciate the voice of Bernie Sanders and many of his policy suggestion (many of which were adopted and implemented by President Biden), Sanders lost the Democratic primary race for one simple reason: Bernie was incapable of building a broader coalition. He had four years to change that – and still failed. In fact, there was no evidence that Bernie even made a serious effort to expand his base.
No Bernie bro here, but he has been more of a voice for sanity than the old guard that has been catatonic
Agreed. I just dispute Mr Bliss’ conspiracy theory.
Don't lie. It's neither a "conspiracy theory," nor am I its origin:
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/democrats-shadowy-plot-to-stop-bernie-sanders/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donna-brazile-hillary-clinton-dnc-primary-rigged-bernie-sanders-a8034716.html
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/11/03/was-democratic-primary-rigged-against-sanders-warren-says-definitively-yes
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/11/02/ex-dnc-chair-goes-at-the-clintons-alleging-hillarys-campaign-hijacked-dnc-during-primary-with-bernie-sanders/
https://www.snopes.com/news/2017/11/03/donna-brazile-elizabeth-warren-rigged-2016-primary/
Edit: voted not vote
I understand that 80% of Democrats Abroad vote for Sanders.
Do you have a source for that? I would be really interested.
oh, get over yourself.... 😜
What?? Bernie & Nancy have been great for decades! They both need to GO!! Younger people are needed! All reps, senators should be out at 65!! AND they should be succession planning and building up the ones to take their places!!!!!!!!
Looking to the future is something Repubs have been good at
And at the state level too. Some of the fixes to the Trump/Republican excesses will require amendments to the Constitution. Like term limits, immunity and pardon power limits.
Example: Update the 14th amendment Section 3 to include President and Vice President to the list of officers.
We have federal term limits in the form of regularly scheduled elections every two, four or six years depending on the office.
One problem with artificial term limits is that they shift institutional memory and experience away from elected officials and toward unelected staffers and paid lobbyists.
Strongly agree Ed ! On all accounts including your last line which has always been my position when arguing with those who favor knee-jerk solutions.
Outlaw lobbyists then Ed. Haven't they been a problem for decades as have monopolistic corporations who hire lobbyists to pass regulations to bankrupt their upstart competition.
Do you think Scotus makes their decisions based on the US Constitution? Lobbyists, including the richest Americans and foreigners buy influence. Look at who Trump has met with in 2025. And Congress is just as bad if not worse.
How many letters and calls from a constituent does it take to equal the influence of one corporate lobbyist from a defense contractor or a health care insurance company?
Amen.
Jul 23, 2024 — This year, Meta has employed 65 lobbyists — one for every eight members of Congress.
The ability to lobby the government is fundamental to US governance. It is easy to unwittingly paint lobbies with a broad brush by mentioning a few that represent policies one opposes. But you suggest throwing the baby out with the bath water. Where do you imagine ideas and support for new legislation originate?
And are you a paid lobbyist Bill? How many great ideas have been quashed by lobbyists in the name of profits for large corporations. Lobbyists are out of control just as the wealthy are controlling the Federal government and many state governments with their wealth.
All lobbyists aren't bad, but I would bet that corporate lobbyists have killed more good legislation than they have supported. And that ain't right.
I think you are confusing money in politics with lobbying. It’s a common confusion. All federal lobbyists are registered. There are even separate House and Senate registeries. You might give them a look. Renewable energy, ring a bell? Veterans associations? Best to ban them. Public broadcasting? Handicapped? Environment, Science … and a thousand other interest groups.
Not to second guess your first impulse. It sounds like you support the right of citizens to petition their government. That’s actually called lobbying.
Maybe you just want to ban lobbyists for the tobacco or chemical or oil refining industries. Yeah, I get those feelings too. Outrage even. I’m also not fond of Drumpf supporters. But I don’t want to deny their right to vote. And at the same time I would not want to deny the right of citizens to petition their government..
I wholly agree that large groups of people are capable of voting for a dolt for Chief Executive. And there are lobbies that serve interests that I deeply wish they wouldn’t.
Voting is a personal matter, and how one casts a ballot is a personal matter. Lobbies are registered, generally and often publish position papers. Beyond that there is still something to be concerned with: quid pro quo.
Here it is. This is at least a double headed beast. Dirty money (also dirty influence) in politics and undue influence.
I don’t want to be unfair, though it seems to me that there’s a feeling that there is lobbying we don’t approve of and unfortunately that notion entirely eclipses everything else.
It’s OK. Republicans actually feel the same way, only their thing is voting. They object to the fact that people like you and me can vote anyway we choose.
I beg that we refocus on something we might change: PACS, Citizens United, the sources of dirty money.
The other problem, powerful industry lobbies that distort our political process, how is it? Take a look at our monopolies, our cartels, mega-banks, monopolistic control of public airwaves and the utter lack of enforcement of laws prohibiting them. Make no mistake, this is where the problem lies.
Then there’s the deeper question. Our domestic propaganda has long included the false notion that democracy and capitalism not only go hand in hand but are synonymous. Yes, perhaps and entirely not necessarily, but with a well defined caveat: regulation. OK, every time regulation is defenestrated, whoops! Corrupt money in the economic and political sectors “flood the zone”.
If we only enforced the good laws we already have, some of our issues, including certain lobbying issues would be ameliorated.
What we seek is a balance economically and politically. So long as we fail in this, we will fail to maintain our union.
Add research, legislative text and seemingly unlimited funds.
Lobby, yes! Pay for votes..no! Guardrails do not exist currently and must be put into ACTUAL law!
The money has got to be ELIMINATED! Lobbying the government should consist of public hearings that are televised for all to see!
Not all lobbyists; those paid for by corporations with vested interest in the outcome.
One for sure ban: Stock trading for ALL Congress critters and their staffers.
I agree Ally.
Many corporations have increased their price per share by buying back stock instead of paying dividends. I would be lying if I said that my family hasn't benefited from this practice. It used to be illegal for corporations to do that, unless they registered the buyback and jumped through disclosure hoops.
Anyway, are these buybacks, insider trading since the companies and others act on this information?
Lobbying per se is not the problem, but rather paid corporate lobbyists. They are not going away, so a (partial) solution might be to ensure their efforts be as transparent as possible. One (partial) solution might be to require elected officials to clearly and publically acknowledge who is giving them money: perhaps make them wear prominent corporate patches on their clothes like race car drivers do, especially when they are in the Capitol and on the campaign trail. I say that both in jest and literally seriouslyz
I think that age limits more so than time limits are more easily articulable and defendable. Oregon has a maximum age of 75 for its Circuit Court judges; I have seen both doddering fools that hung on as late as they could and seen two "age out" that were both fantastic judges and on top of their game. I propose both 70 as a top age, along with an "emeritus" position for those who are still mentally and physically qualified to weigh in on matters.
No reason to throw all that knowledge away simply because the package has reached its 'sell by date'
Knowledge is not thrown away when judges retire. All of their rulings remain for others to study and site.
Although everything they know and understand is not written down. In fact their writings constitute only a small percentage.
Maybe elect people who will follow the law. Chump never had, never promised to, never will.
When one tries to impose term limits, resistance will come from the puppet masters.
I strongly disagree with blunt term limits as any viable solution. You have to 'play a tape all the way through' IBS.
“Play a tape all the way through”? What the heck does that mean? I have to listen to a whole Trump speech before I can throw up? No. Our not having term limits has made for a very lazy constituency. I believe we need to try something else.
The Presidency has a 2 term limit. Why can’t a Senator have a 4 term limit? That is 24 years!! Representatives could have a 6 term limit. That’s 12 years. There just needs to be an Exit Sign!
I hesitate to say IBS, as that would completely reveal how very dim you are. Btw, is it any coincidence that my created acronym for your handle also mimics a medical condition: Irritable bowel syndrome ? Happily, your one vote, borrowed from right wingers of a certain sort, only carries that much weight. Try an enema...
Whoa. Time for personal attacks. See ya.
Of course Donald keeps to his criminal, hate-filled, destructive ways in contrast to Mamdani.
Of course he keeps covering for his pedophile pals -- does not want any of his fellow criminal “friends” to be hurt.
We’re talking about that deeply corrupt, moneyed world that floats the worst of the Clarence court. That keeps Congress silent, cowardly, spineless. That lets Donald freely murder, gerrymander, destroy, bribe, extort, lie, and smear his gold glitter and criminal name everywhere.
Yes, he and his billionaire “friends” raped girls for years.
I’m now reading Cameron Crowe’s great memoir, “The Uncool.” I’m early on, in the period of 1972, when he was just 15 and on his first trip up the 5 from his middle-class home in San Diego to the phantasmagoric Sunset Strip center of the world’s then-most-licentious rock-n-roll excesses.
At that time the Powell memo was barely a year old. The U.S.’s rich and corporate were still organizing their soon-to-be new, most far-right foundations to rid American public life (first, the schools, all levels) of the personal energy that underlay rock then, and fueled the parallel good vitalities of the anti-war movement, civil rights, feminism, Chicano field workers, and environmentalism.
But the billionaires and the corporate would win. And they’d not care a whit if 1,000 girls got raped over the many years of Donald’s, Jeffrey’s, Ghislaine’s, and they the billionaires’ power flaunting and cynical cavorting.
Power demonstrably tends to corrupt, and absolute power absolutely since no one with a sense of justice would seek it. History is littered with petty and powerful people who get their jollies breaking every rule they can, as Trump has done from very early on. Not every holder of wealth and power is a sociopath, but money and power tends to let them get away with it.
They won't "get away with it," J L, if we rededicate ourselves to humanities-keyed schools.
Give teachers more discretion as to the novels and memoirs they might assign. They could let the students pick books they'll read -- and later write reviews for the other students, or give oral presentations on what they found most valuable in the books.
Stress respect for all varieties of people. Learn to voice that respect. We'll have stronger souls, fuller literacy -- and as that happens, less passivity.
Pretty on target diagnosis
I have stories to tell Phil, that I have no doubts that you would know to be truth. Perhaps a day will come that I'll share them.
CBS just reported that Trump has ordered military strikes on facilities in Caracas Venezuela. Film shows large numbers of helicopters flying overhead and explosions across the city. This was done without Congressional approval nor even notice. Trump has claimed he has done this to stop drugs from coming to the US, but it is obvious he wants to control the oil for his MAGAites
A fool proving he is a fool, and in our name…
He claims that Maduro and his wife have been captured and removed from the country.
“From an international law perspective, Mearsheimer says Trump shows little regard for legal norms, citing threats and uses of force with no clear legal authority. Strategically, this behavior reinforces a global perception that U.S. diplomacy is unreliable, pushing states like Russia, Iran, China, and even partners like Ukraine to demand formal, legally binding guarantees rather than relying on U.S. assurances.”
https://www.youtube.com/live/HFEl-aNBFDg?si=JKh2QWgxXJ0BrhrQ
Daniel Davis | Deep Dive
John Mearsheimer: Iran & Trump Threats Exchanged | JAN 02 2026
We are trashing international trust bigly that we may never fully recover.
Maybe if we impeach, arrest, try and inprison perpetrators.
Some say we live in an attention economy, since it is a finite resource that is required for political power. This is part of the truth.
We also live in a trustworthiness (& verification) economy. With the rise of AI slop, and non-stop personalized misinformation feeds, it will rapidly become impossible to know what is true. Verified trustworthiness will be the scarcest and most valuable resource of them all.
Prior to T, the globally most trusted nation could have been US. Perhaps never more.
So classically tragic. P successfully played T, ending US national security.
P always one step ahead, is he not.
One step ahead of the village idiot is quite an accomplishment.
DJT’s love of the ‘strongman’ image gave P much of this ‘power’.
My laugh of the day. Thanks Sadly, the human race does as disastrously with the smartest people in the room as the village idiots.
“the human race does as disastrously with the smartest people in the room as the village idiots”
-This is actually the best reason for a flat hierarchy (social) representative democracy.
But also, democracies only persist in the absence of >4-5x magnitudes of power inequality (ie ‘social’ democracies instead of laissez-faire capitalist societies).
US has moved steadily toward oligarchy (rule by the greediest and most entitled in the room) for more than 50 years.
But again, Democracy and billionaires cannot coexist in the same political power realm.
So one MUST squeeze the money out of ALL billionaires and multinationals if we want money out of politics - a precondition for a democracy serving people instead of a welfare state for the rich - our current state.
Democratic socialism sounds good to me.
What would you honestly expect from a president who has twice been impeached and is a convicted fraudster?
I’m still waiting to hear Schumer’s and Jeffrie’s endorsement of New York City’s mayor. Their quiet caution is telling. The future is not for the likes of them. Their train has left the station and they missed it.
They missed the train back in Nov when they decided to sleep in
Just another sign it's time for the old guard to go in favor of younger real leaders.
And as you know, 'waiting' is not in line with leading. I fear their waiting for 'party approval.'
This "waiting for party approval" is an inadvertent confession of where their true allegiances lay. It is with Wall Street and it ain't with us working folks.
Perhaps You share my first 'read' on that Gregg. For myself though, experience and hard earned humility begs me to 'pause' on any conclusions and watch for more 'tells.' We shall see.
Regarding Zohran Mamdani's first day in office...
The vision of ALL citizens being involved in their government - "an engaged citizenry" that does more than just vote but also helps develop and enact new policies - has appealed to me for many decades. For this reason, I joined an effort during the 2008 election called Organizing For America that then candidate Barack Obama promised would be part of his administration if he won. When that initiative got shut down by the Democratic National Committee shortly after he didi won, I learned a big lesson about political parties: They want to Remain In Control. They want our votes but otherwise want "we the people" to leave them alone to do what they want to do.
This is why learning that Zohran Mamdani created the new Mayor's Office of Mass Engagement today is so exciting to me. Because he is NOT part of the "political establishment," his vision of an engaged citizenry is really going to happen!
Here's where you can watch the announcement of this new office, which took place earlier today...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VONiIBvXOD0
Steve, I spent 20 years as a paid liaison between local government and volunteer neighborhood boards and associations. Ultimately, citizens viewed us as being controlled by the city and they were correct. We were constantly given agendas to push and, while some grassroots agendas came to the surface and were implemented, as long as the paychecks and infrastructure funding came directly from city funding and priorities, the citizen voice were muted, manipulated or ignored. I wish them luck.
Thank you for sharing something of your experiences, Janet. I’m curious to know where you did this work.
My first experience engaging with citizens began in 1980, where a friend started NewYorkCitiWorks, which helped people do charity work that contributed to the civic health of NYC. In the early 1990s, I was part of a nationwide movement to bring Total Quality Management’s principles to how cities plan for their futures. Today, the Communities of Excellence movement is the best thought out initiative I know of (link below).
I get your point about how sources of funding can affect the vision and functioning of citizen engagement efforts. But like any organized effort, it’s the quality / character of the people in charge that matters … the leadership. Mayor Mamdani has a vision of “we are all in this together” … of a NYC that’s not controlled by those with the money. I am optimistic he will succeed.
And again, I’m curious to learn more about your experiences. Perhaps we can talk by zoom some time?
I started during Model Cities in the early 1970’s. Later, we had block grants with fairly strict funding categories for projects. Dayton, Ohio is where I spent 20 years playing tug of war between residents and government actors. One notable person who evidently built some party cred during my time was my current House rep Mike Turner. He was just passing through, rather like our current VP Vance.
Thank you for this additional background information. I applaud your commitment to better cities going back so many years.
Sometimes new ideas do not get adopted unless there is a crisis that causes people to look for new ways of behaving. I am optimistic that enough people know we need to Think Differently if we are going to get out of this crisis that people will finally change in ways necessary to make that happen.
As the youngest of six siblings by many years, I learned what to do and what NOT to do by watching and listening to my mother’s response to my siblings behavior. Being a good kid was quite simple, really - don’t do what made my mother swear and cry. The contrast between Mamdani and Trump is quite obvious, really. Which leader would make my mom swear and cry?
Trump simply doesn't comprehend that a cognitive test is administered to detect and evaluate dementia - his dementia. Nor does he understand that you cannot lower prices by 200% unless the company in question pays customers to take its products. He insults our intelligence by repeating such nonsense over and over, yet doesn't realize that with each repetition, he is making it crystal clear to us all that he's the only one who doesn't know his mental faculties, inadequate when in prime condition, are shot.
He has no mirror
Every word of this Letter. Everyone should read every word of this letter.
Yes, I'm thinking of more and more people who will be glad to read it.
Okay, I read this late. Just about 15 minutes ago there was an interruption of regular programming to say that Caracas is being bombed. Is the military as corrupt as the administration? How can this be happening? Did all the generals who aren't somehow obligated to Trump resign? I am appalled, angry, and too damn old for this.
Why in the hell are we bombing Caracas?
We're bombing the Epstein out of the MSM
Why in Caracas: U.S. Delta Force action to capture Maduro and his wife. What next? Maybe Israel's Mossad will kidnap Trump. The Trump government certainly has no legal argument now against world chaos.